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flanker (n.)
1550s, from flank (n.).
Entries linking to flanker
flank (n.)late Old English flanc "flank, fleshy part of the side," from Old French flanc "hip, side," from Frankish or another Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *hlanca- (source also of Old High German (h)lanca, Middle High German lanke "hip joint," German lenken "to bend, turn aside;" Old English hlanc "loose and empty, slender, flaccid;" Old Norse hlykkr "a bend, noose, loop"), from PIE root *kleng- "to bend, turn" (see link (n.)). Showing characteristic change of Germanic hl- to Romanic fl-. The military sense is first attested 1540s. Meaning "side" of anything is by 1620s. As an adjective, "pertaining to the flank or side," 1660s. Related: Flanked; flanking.
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Definitions of flanker
flanker (n.)
a back stationed wide of the scrimmage line; used as a pass receiver;
Synonyms: flanker back
flanker (n.)
a soldier who is a member of a detachment assigned to guard the flanks of a military formation;
