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- (cognates: 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.
flank (v.)
1590s (military), "to guard the flank," also, "to menace the flank, fire sideways upon," from flank (n.). Meaning "stand or be placed at the side of" is from 1650s. Related: Flanked; flanking.
例文
1. Bookcases flank the bed.
ベッドの両側に本棚があります。
2.He put his hand on the dog 's flank .
彼は犬の脇腹に手を置いた。
3.We were taken in flank by a trop of cavalry.
我々の翼側は騎兵隊の襲撃を受けた。
4.By the left flank ，march！
左に曲がって！
5.The assault element，led by Captain Ramirez，opened up from their right flank .