Meaning

noun the hip and buttock and upper thigh in human beings

noun the loin and leg of a quadruped

originFrom Middle English haunche, hanche, from Old French hanche, hance, anche (compare French hanche, Italian anca), from a Germanic source, probably Frankish *ankijā, from Proto-Germanic *ankijǭ (“joint; ankle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ang- (“joint; lith”). Cognate with Old High German ancha, encha, einka (“the leg; joint, bend”) (compare Old High German anchila, enchila (“ankle”), German Hanke…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0