plank

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See also: plänk-

English[edit]

Planks (pieces of timber)

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English plank, planke, borrowed from Old French planke, Old Northern French planque (compare French planche, from Old French planche), from Vulgar Latin planca, from palanca, from Latin phalanga. The Latin term derives from the Ancient Greek φάλαγξ (phálanx), so it is thus a doublet of phalange and phalanx. Compare also the doublets planch and planche, borrowed later from Middle French and Modern French, respectively.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

plank (plural planks)

  1. A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick.
  2. (figurative) A political issue that is of concern to a faction or a party of the people and the political position that is taken on that issue.
    Holonym: platform
    Germanization was a central plank of German conservative thinking in the 19th and 20th centuries.
    • 1996 August 24, Frank Bruni, “Dole Rejects a Party Plank”, in The New York Times‎[1], →ISSN:
      When Mr. Dole had been asked at the Republican convention about the same immigration amendment—one of the more conservative and sensitive planks—he did not oppose it, but said he would have to think long and hard before supporting it.
    • 2011, Guy Standing, chapter 1, in The Precariat‎[2], Bloomsbury Publishing, published 2016, →ISBN:
      In the 1970s, a group of ideologically inspired economists captured the ears and minds of politicians. The central plank of their ‘neo-liberal’ model was that growth and development depended on market competitiveness; […]
  3. Physical exercise in which one holds a pushup position for a measured length of time.
  4. (British, slang) A stupid person, idiot.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:idiot
  5. That which supports or upholds.
    • 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society:
      His charity is a better plank than the faith of an intolerant and bitter-minded bigot.

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

  • Tok Pisin: plangk

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

plank (third-person singular simple present planks, present participle planking, simple past and past participle planked)

  1. (transitive) To cover something with planking.
    to plank a floor or a ship
    • 1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
      Plank'd with pine.
  2. (transitive) To bake (fish, etc.) on a piece of cedar lumber.
    • 1998, Richard Gerstell, American Shad in the Susquehanna River Basin, page 147:
      Along the lower river, planked shad dinners (baked and broiled) were highly popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
  3. (transitive, colloquial) To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash.
    to plank money in a wager
    • 1963, George Blaikie, Scandals of Australia's Strange Past, Adelaide: Rigby Limited, page 117:
      Joe planked the money down in the officer of a newspaper editor and awaited results. There weren't any.
  4. (transitive) To harden, as hat bodies, by felting.
  5. To splice together the ends of slivers of wool, for subsequent drawing.
  6. (intransitive) To pose for a photograph while lying rigid, face down, arms at side, in an unusual place.
    • 2011 May 23, “Party finishes up in plonking after attempt at planking in Kingsford”, in Herald Sun‎[3]:
      The woman, known as Claudia, fell from a 2m wall after earlier demonstrating the wrong way to plank on a small stool while holding a bottle of wine. A friend said some guests had not heard of planking and Claudia was demonstrating how ridiculous it was.
    • 2011 May 24, “Tourists snapped planking at iconic landmarks around the world”, in The Australian‎[4]:
      Perth man Simon Carville became an internet sensation after he was photographed planking naked in the arms of famous Perth statue the Eliza.

Translations[edit]

Afrikaans[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Dutch plank, from Middle Dutch planke, from Old Dutch [Term?], from Old Northern French planke, from Late Latin planca.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

plank (plural planke, diminutive plankie)

  1. A plank.

Derived terms[edit]

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Dutch planke, from Old Dutch *planca, from Old Northern French planke, from Late Latin planca.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

plank f (plural planken, diminutive plankje n)

  1. shelf
  2. (wooden or plastic) plank.

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English plank.

Noun[edit]

plank m (invariable)

  1. (neologism) plank (physical exercise)

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Low German planke, from Latin planca.

Noun[edit]

plank n

  1. a high wooden fence which completely prevents any seeing-through

Declension[edit]

Declension of plank 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative plank planket plank planken
Genitive planks plankets planks plankens

Derived terms[edit]

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