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mank

English · Thesaurus

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mank¹

  • /ˈmæŋk/
  • [ˈmæŋk]
  • /ˈmeɪ̯ŋk/ Canada, US
  • [ˈmeɪ̯ŋk] ~ /ˈmɛ̃ŋk/ Canada, US
  • [ˈmɛ̃ŋk] Canada, US

Rhymes with -æŋk

Where it comes from

From Middle English manken, from Old English *mancian, bemancian (“to maim, mutilate”), of obscure origin. Cognate with Middle Low German mank (“lame, defective”), Dutch mank (“lame, defective”), and Middle High German manc (“lack, defect”). Perhaps from Latin mancus (“maimed, crippled, frail, incomplete”), from Proto-Indo-European *mank-, *menk- (“maimed, mutilation, torment”).

verb manks · manking · manked

  1. obsolete, transitive To mutilate.

mank²

  • /ˈmæŋk/
  • [ˈmæŋk]
  • /ˈmeɪ̯ŋk/ Canada, US
  • [ˈmeɪ̯ŋk] ~ /ˈmɛ̃ŋk/ Canada, US
  • [ˈmɛ̃ŋk] Canada, US

Rhymes with -æŋk

Where it comes from

Via Polari, from Italian mancare (“to be lacking”), from Latin mancus (“maimed”). See above.

adjective

  1. UK, not comparable, slang Disgusting, repulsive. When he eats, he never closes his mouth. It's so mank.

    Similar: manky, ming, minging

  2. not comparable, slang Synonym of manky (“being or having bad weather”). Antarctica can be dingle, with clear skies, or mank, with nothing of the sort.

    Similar: manky

noun

  1. UK, slang, uncountable Something that is disgusting or manky. The plumber had to get all the mank out of the drain.

Mank³

proper noun Manks

  1. A surname.

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Cite this
MLA

"mank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mank. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mank. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mank

Chicago

"mank." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mank.

BibTeX
@misc{mank_2026,
  title = {mank},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mank},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}