shin; plural noun: shins

the front of the leg below the knee.

a cut of beef from the lower part of a cow's leg.

BRITISH
verb: shin; 3rd person present: shins; past tense: shinned; past participle: shinned; gerund or present participle: shinning

climb quickly up or down by gripping with one's arms and legs.

"he shinned up a tree"

climb (up/down)
clamber up/down
scramble up/down
scrabble up/down
swarm up/down
shoot up/down
go up/down
mount
ascend
scale
claw one's way up
descend
slide down
drop down
shinny

Old English scinu, probably from a Germanic base meaning ‘narrow or thin piece’; related to German Schiene ‘thin plate’ and Dutch scheen . The verb was originally in nautical use (early 19th century).