cankle(s)

A swelling of the ankle and lower calf so as to obliterate the normal tapered boundary between the two. While it may be simply be deposition of adipose tissue (fat), or even excessive standing, in some cases the cankle may represent a symptom of kidney disease or even congestive heart failure, in that the swelling could be caused by excessive fluid retention in the lower leg which the failing heart is unable to pump uphill or the kidneys are unable to excrete into the urine. While the term is ordinarily used in a sexist manner to insult a woman's beauty, cankles may represent more than a mere cosmetic problem, but actually a dangerous situation calling for evfaluation by a physician.