hank /ˈheɪ̯ŋk/noun 7verb 2forms 3 noun7 •A coil or loop of something, especially twine, yarn, or rope.Cotton twist is spun here of 130 hanks to the pound. Each hank is 840 yards long […] — 1796 •A ring or shackle that secures a staysail to its stay and allows the sail to glide smoothly up and down. •Mess, tangle. •Doubt, difficulty. •A rope or withe for fastening a gate. •A throw in which a wrestler turns his left side to his opponent, twines his left leg about his opponent's right leg from the inside, and throws him backward. •(no longer used) Hold; influence.Seldom doth a man fall into a Presumptuous Sin, but vvhere the Devil hath got such a hanke over him, […] — 1636 verb2 •To form into hanks. •(dialect, UK) To fasten with a rope, as a gate.where stood a fyne howse newly built and vaulted, over wheron her armes was sett and hanked with tapestrye — 1573 formshanked · hanking · hanks
