Haunche

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The fleshy part of the body above the thigh and around the hip ; the hind leg and loin of an animal cut as meat for eating
2. The rounded area of the hip and buttock on a person or animal ; a cut of game meat taken from the back legs and loin
3. The upper hind part of the body where the thigh joins the hip ; the hindquarters of a deer or other game prepared as food

Etymology: The spelling "haunche" with its final "e" is the Middle English form, and it came into English from Old French "hanche," the word for the hip or thigh region. French had it from a Germanic source, most likely a Frankish word for the hip, which is related to Old High German "hanka." The English sense stayed close to that original anatomy: the fleshy part of the body above the thigh, where the hip joins the leg. Over time the spelling lost its final "e," and the word began to be used for animal cuts of meat, especially the hindquarters of deer, as in a "haunch of venison." Its origin is therefore a body part, and the meat sense came later.