It is a verb meaning to stab someone with a home-made implement. You could use it as a noun as well, which is when it would refer to a shank – a home-made weapon. Examples could include; He made a shank whilst in prison. She was shanked in the shower.

What is the shank bone?

shankbone in British English (ˈʃæŋkˌbəʊn) noun. non-technical. a large bone in the lower leg between the knee and the foot of an animal; the tibia.

Why is it called Shank?

Old English sceanca “leg, shank, shinbone,” specifically, the part of the leg from the knee to the ankle, from Proto-Germanic *skunkia- (source also of Middle Low German schenke, German schenkel “shank, leg”), perhaps literally “that which bends,” from PIE root *skeng- “crooked” (source also of Old Norse skakkr “wry, …