# ankle

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈæŋ.k(ə)l/ · frequency rank #7,415

## Definitions
1. The skeletal joint which connects the foot with the leg; the uppermost portion of the foot and lowermost portion of the leg, which contain this skeletal joint.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eng-
Proto-Germanic *-ulaz
Proto-Germanic *ankulaz
Proto-West Germanic *ankul
Old English *ancol
Middle English ancle
English ankle
From Middle English ankel, ancle, ankyll, from Old English ancol (compare anclēow (“ankle”) > Modern English anclef, ancliff, ancley), from Proto-West Germanic *ankul, from Proto-Germanic *ankulaz (“ankle”); akin to Icelandic ökkla, ökli, Danish and Swedish ankel, Dutch enklaauw, enkel, German Enkel, Old Norse akka, Old Frisian anckel, and perhaps Old High German encha, ancha (“thigh, shin”), from the Proto-Germanic *ankijǭ (“ankle, joint”).
Compare with Sanskrit अङ्ग (aṅga, “limb”), अङ्गुरि (aṅguri, “finger”), Latin angulus. Compare haunch and Greek prefix ἀγκυλο- (ankulo-, “joint, crooked, bent”). Doublet of angulus and angle.

## Easily confused with
- **Anne** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ankle-vs-anne)
- **axle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ankle-vs-axle)
- **ante** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ankle-vs-ante)
- **apple** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ankle-vs-apple)
- **Annie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ankle-vs-annie)
- **anode** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ankle-vs-anode)
- **antler** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ankle-vs-antler)
- **ale** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ale-vs-ankle)
- **ake** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ake-vs-ankle)
- **able** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/able-vs-ankle)
- **anal** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anal-vs-ankle)
- **anil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anil-vs-ankle)
- **Ange** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ange-vs-ankle)
- **angle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/angle-vs-ankle)
- **anglo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/anglo-vs-ankle)
- **aisle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/aisle-vs-ankle)
- **ample** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ample-vs-ankle)
- **Adele** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/adele-vs-ankle)
- **agile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/agile-vs-ankle)
- **Angie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/angie-vs-ankle)

## Common misspellings (7)
`aknle`, `ankel`, `ankkle`, `anklle`, `anlke`, `annkle`, `nakle`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ankle