Meaning

noun the side of military or naval formation

noun a subfigure consisting of a side of something

noun a cut from the fleshy part of an animal's side between the ribs and the leg

originFrom Late Middle English flanc, from Late Old English flanc (“flank”), from Old French flanc, of Germanic origin, probably Frankish *hlanca, from Proto-West Germanic *hlanku (“bend, curve, hip, flank”), from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“flexible, sleek, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng- (“to bend”). Akin to Old High German hlanca (“loin”), Middle Low German lanke (“hip joint”) (German…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0