Jump to content

tank

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Tank, tänk, and tànk

English

[edit]
A military tank.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

    From Portuguese tanque (“tank, liquid container”), from an Indo-Aryan language such as Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭā̃kī, “cistern”) or Marathi टांकी (ṭāṅkī). Compare the Arabic verb اِسْتَنْقَعَ (istanqaʕa, “to become stagnant, to stagnate”).

    In the sense of armoured vehicle, first attested in 1915, prototypes were described as tanks for carrying water to disguise their nature as well as due to physical resemblance.

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank (plural tanks)

    1. A closed container for liquids or gases.
      The propane is stored in these tanks.
      The tank contains unfiltered water. You really shouldn't drink from that.
      • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 29:
        The other room was a kitchen, with an open fireplace, a safe, a dresser and a tin sink, with a tap from the tank outside.
    2. An open container or pool for storing water or other liquids.
      The contractors installed a new tank with gorgeous fish and corals.
      The ore slurries are directed into an open tank outside the excavation site.
    3. A pond, pool, or small lake (either natural or artificial).[1]
    4. The fuel reservoir of a vehicle.
      We have brought the van to a garage after we found a leak in the tank.
    5. The amount held by a container; a tankful.
      I burned three tanks of gas on the drive to New York.
    7. An armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a gun designed for direct fire, and moving on caterpillar tracks.
      The journalist mistook the self-propelled artillery vehicle for a tank.
      Few remember the female tanks that were produced between the World Wars.
    8. (Australia, India) A reservoir or dam.
    9. (botany) A structure of tightly overlapping leaves used by some bromeliads to retain water.
    10. (colloquial) A very muscular and physically imposing person; somebody who is built like a tank.
    11. (UK, slang, dated, by extension) A bouncer or doorman.
    12. (roleplaying games, board games, video games) A unit or character designed primarily around damage absorption and holding the attention of the enemy (as opposed to dealing damage, healing, or other tasks).
      The paladin can make for a decent tank, but I recommend that you get a class with better taunting skills.
    13. (US, slang) A prison cell, or prison generally.
      drunk tank
      The sheriff threw us in the tank without charges!
      • 1985 April 13, Philip Brasfield, “Echoes Inside of What's Outside”, in Gay Community News, page 4:
        By the nature of imprisonment, one is perceived by free society as something subhuman. By the nature of being on a protective custody tank, a "gay tank", everyone there is seen as members of the lowest caste in the system.
      • 1987, Shane MacGowan, Jem Finer, “Fairytale of New York”, in If I Should Fall from Grace with God, performed by The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl:
        It was Christmas Eve, babe, in the drunk tank / An old man said to me, “Won't see another one”
    14. (poker, slang) A metaphorical place where a player goes to contemplate a decision; see in the tank.
    15. (rail transport) Ellipsis of tank engine or tank locomotive.
      • 1941 September, “The Why and the Wherefore: The Longest Tank Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, pages 431–432:
        Before their conversion to 4-6-0 tender locomotives, the L.B. & S.C.R. Baltic tank engines Nos. 330 to 334 measured 50 ft. 5 in. over buffers; the nearest present approach to this figure is the 49 ft. 10½ in. of the remaining ex-Lancashire & Yorkshire Hughes type 4-cylinder 4-6-4 tanks of the L.M.S.R. The Furness and G. & S.W.R. 4-6-4 tanks of the same company, all now scrapped, were, respectively, 49 ft. 1½ in. and 47 ft. 8 in. long.
      • 1952 February, R. A. H. Weight, “A Railway Recorder in Wessex”, in Railway Magazine, page 133:
        Representing the older types now are some Stroudley 0-6-0 tanks, while a Drummond "C14" 0-4-0 tank might still be pottering about on the Town Quays as of yore.
    17. (clothing) Ellipsis of tank top.
      • 1990 November 18, “Earl’s Reebok Sale for the Holidays”, in Granite City Press-Record Journal, volume 6, number 46, Granite City, Ill., →OCLC, page 8A:
        T-BACK COTTON TANK
      • 2008, Nora Roberts, Tribute, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, →ISBN, page 206:
        It pleased her more than she could say to know she walked on her own land, over dewed grass, wearing a tank and cotton pajama pants.
      • 2022, Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation, Minneapolis, Minn.: Broadleaf Books, 1517 Media, →ISBN:
        I was wearing a tank and some cotton pants.
      • 2023 August 9, Brooke Kato, “Gen Z loves the ‘wife beater’ tee — but they’re canceling the name”, in New York Post‎[2], New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 10 August 2023:
        On TikTok, #wifepleaser boasts more than 11.4 million views, while #wifepleasertank has racked up 13.9 million. […] Thanks to TikTok, there has been a mass adoption of the term “wife pleaser” in an attempt to rebrand the tank.
    Synonyms
    [edit]
    Antonyms
    [edit]
    Hypernyms
    [edit]
    Hyponyms
    [edit]
    Coordinate terms
    [edit]
    Derived terms
    [edit]
    Terms derived from tank (noun)
    Descendants
    [edit]
    Descendants
    Translations
    [edit]

    Adjective

    [edit]

    tank (not comparable)

    1. This term needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
      tank beer
      tank mix
    Translations
    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    tank (third-person singular simple present tanks, present participle tanking, simple past and past participle tanked)

    1. To fail or fall (often used in describing the economy or the stock market); to degenerate or decline rapidly; to plummet.
      • 2008 October, Davy Rothbart, “How I caught up with dad”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 112:
        He told me about all the odd jobs he'd taken after I was born, when Michigan's economy was tanking. For one, he crisscrossed the Midwest buying old carpets from dentists' offices.
      • 2022 October 5, “Network News: Private sector's role in a publicly-owned railway”, in RAIL, number 967, page 16:
        "[...] If the economy has tanked... then we don't want to over-promise and under-deliver."
    2. (video games) To attract the attacks of an enemy target in cooperative team-based combat, so that one's teammates can defeat the enemy in question more efficiently.
    3. (transitive) To put (fuel, etc.) into a tank.
      Concrete below ground must be fully tanked to prevent water uptake.
      • 1913, Geoffrey Martin, Industrial and manufacturing chemistry:
        Sometimes oils are tanked for months or years at a time (e.g., linseed oil).
    4. To deliberately lose a sports match with the intent of gaining a perceived future competitive advantage.
      • 2006 March 6, Michael Farber, “Swede Success”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎[3], Sports Illustrated, archived from the original on 4 November 2012:
        Beforehand, Swedish [national ice hockey team] coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson had ruminated about tanking against Slovakia to avoid powerful Canada or the Czechs in the quarters [i.e., quarterfinals of the 2006 Winter Olympic tournament], telling Swedish television, "One is cholera, the other the plague."
    5. (fandom slang) To resist damage; to be attacked without being hurt.
      • 2015 March 1, DudeFuckMath, “Bane [DC] vs Iron Fist [Marvel]”, in Reddit (r/whowouldwin)‎[4], retrieved 19 June 2017:
        Unless Bane can tank Helicarrier-busting explosions I'm not sure how he stands a chance.
      • 2016 June 2, MercinWithAMouth, “Superman Stongest Feat Ever”, in Comic Vine Forums‎[5], retrieved 19 June 2017:
        A weakened Superman tanked an explosion 50 times larger than the Kepler's Supernova and the electromagnetic shock wave hit him.
      • 2016 July 22, Si-Phon Dom, “Big Barda Vs She Hulk”, in Comics Amino‎[6], retrieved 19 June 2017:
        Barda could BFR and I doubt She hulk is tanking a blow from her rod, so she takes.
    6. (originally poker, slang) To contemplate a decision for a long time; to go in the tank.
    7. (Singapore, colloquial) To stand; to tolerate.
    8. (Singapore, colloquial) To willingly take on an undesirable task or burden.
    Derived terms
    [edit]
    Translations
    [edit]
    References
    [edit]
    1. ^ “tank”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank (plural tanks)

    1. A small Indian dry measure, averaging 240 grains in weight.[1]
    2. A Bombay weight of 72 grains, for pearls.[2]

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ “tank”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
    2. ^ 1858, Peter Lund Simmonds, The Dictionary of Trade Products

    Further reading

    [edit]

    Anagrams

    [edit]

    Alemannic German

    [edit]

    Interjection

    [edit]

    tank

    1. (Gressoney) thank you

    Synonyms

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]

    Azerbaijani

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Internationalism. From English tank, from Portuguese tanque, from Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭā̃kī).

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank (definite accusative tankı, plural tanklar)

    1. tank

    Declension

    [edit]
    Declension of tank
    singular plural
    nominative tanktanklar
    definite accusative tankıtankları
    dative tankatanklara
    locative tankdatanklarda
    ablative tankdantanklardan
    definite genitive tankıntankların
    Possessive forms of tank
    nominative
    singular plural
    mənim (“my”) tankım tanklarım
    sənin (“your”) tankın tankların
    onun (“his/her/its”) tankı tankları
    bizim (“our”) tankımız tanklarımız
    sizin (“your”) tankınız tanklarınız
    onların (“their”) tankı or tankları tankları
    accusative
    singular plural
    mənim (“my”) tankımı tanklarımı
    sənin (“your”) tankını tanklarını
    onun (“his/her/its”) tankını tanklarını
    bizim (“our”) tankımızı tanklarımızı
    sizin (“your”) tankınızı tanklarınızı
    onların (“their”) tankını or tanklarını tanklarını
    dative
    singular plural
    mənim (“my”) tankıma tanklarıma
    sənin (“your”) tankına tanklarına
    onun (“his/her/its”) tankına tanklarına
    bizim (“our”) tankımıza tanklarımıza
    sizin (“your”) tankınıza tanklarınıza
    onların (“their”) tankına or tanklarına tanklarına
    locative
    singular plural
    mənim (“my”) tankımda tanklarımda
    sənin (“your”) tankında tanklarında
    onun (“his/her/its”) tankında tanklarında
    bizim (“our”) tankımızda tanklarımızda
    sizin (“your”) tankınızda tanklarınızda
    onların (“their”) tankında or tanklarında tanklarında
    ablative
    singular plural
    mənim (“my”) tankımdan tanklarımdan
    sənin (“your”) tankından tanklarından
    onun (“his/her/its”) tankından tanklarından
    bizim (“our”) tankımızdan tanklarımızdan
    sizin (“your”) tankınızdan tanklarınızdan
    onların (“their”) tankından or tanklarından tanklarından
    genitive
    singular plural
    mənim (“my”) tankımın tanklarımın
    sənin (“your”) tankının tanklarının
    onun (“his/her/its”) tankının tanklarının
    bizim (“our”) tankımızın tanklarımızın
    sizin (“your”) tankınızın tanklarınızın
    onların (“their”) tankının or tanklarının tanklarının

    Further reading

    [edit]
    • “tank” in Obastan.com.

    Czech

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank m inan

    1. tank, armor

    Declension

    [edit]
    Declension of tank (velar masculine inanimate)
    singular plural
    nominative tank tanky
    genitive tanku tanků
    dative tanku tankům
    accusative tank tanky
    vocative tanku tanky
    locative tanku tancích
    instrumental tankem tanky

    Derived terms

    [edit]

    Further reading

    [edit]

    Danish

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    Borrowed from English tank.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]
    • IPA(key): /tanˀk/, [ˈtˢɑŋˀɡ̊]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank c (singular definite tanken, plural indefinite tanke)

    1. tank (for storage)
      Synonym: beholder
    2. (informal) filling station, gas station (US), petrol station (UK), service station
      Synonym: tankstation
    Declension
    [edit]
    Declension of tank
    common
    gender     		singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative tank tanken tanke tankene
    genitive tanks tankens tankes tankenes

    References

    [edit]

    Etymology 2

    [edit]
    Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia da

    Borrowed from English tank (but later than the previous word).

    Pronunciation

    [edit]
    • IPA(key): /taːnk/, [ˈtˢæːŋɡ̊]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank c (singular definite tanken, plural indefinite tanks)

    1. tank (military fighting vehicle)
      Synonym: kampvogn
    Declension
    [edit]
    Declension of tank
    common
    gender     		singular plural
    indefinite definite indefinite definite
    nominative tank tanken tanks tanksene
    genitive tanks tankens tanks' tanksenes

    References

    [edit]

    Etymology 3

    [edit]

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]
    • IPA(key): /tanˀk/, [ˈtˢɑŋˀɡ̊]

    Verb

    [edit]

    tank

    1. imperative of tanke

    Dutch

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    Borrowed from English tank.

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank m (plural tanks, diminutive tankje n)

    1. tank (storage reservoir)
    2. tank (armoured fighting vehicle with tracks and direct-fire gun)
      Synonym: vechtwagen
    3. (slang) a muscular, physically imposing man
    Derived terms
    [edit]
    Descendants
    [edit]
    See also
    [edit]

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Verb

    [edit]

    tank

    1. inflection of tanken:
      1. first-person singular present indicative
      2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
      3. imperative

    Anagrams

    [edit]

    French

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    English tank.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank m (plural tanks)

    1. tank (military vehicle)
      Synonyms: char, char d'assaut, char de combat
    2. (North America) tank (container)
      Synonym: réservoir

    Further reading

    [edit]

    German

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    tank

    1. singular imperative of tanken
    2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of tanken

    Hungarian

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Borrowed from English tank.[1]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank (plural tankok)

    1. tank (a closed container for liquids or gases)
    2. tank, fuel tank (the fuel reservoir of a vehicle)
      Synonym: üzemanyagtartály
    3. (military) tank, armoured fighting vehicle (military fighting vehicle)
      Synonyms: harckocsi, páncélkocsi, páncélos
    4. (photography) developing tank (a closed container used for developing film in a daylight environment)
      Synonym: előhívó tank

    Declension

    [edit]
    Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
    singular plural
    nominative tank tankok
    accusative tankot tankokat
    dative tanknak tankoknak
    instrumental tankkal tankokkal
    causal-final tankért tankokért
    translative tankká tankokká
    terminative tankig tankokig
    essive-formal tankként tankokként
    essive-modal — —
    inessive tankban tankokban
    superessive tankon tankokon
    adessive tanknál tankoknál
    illative tankba tankokba
    sublative tankra tankokra
    allative tankhoz tankokhoz
    elative tankból tankokból
    delative tankról tankokról
    ablative tanktól tankoktól
    non-attributive
    possessive – singular     		tanké tankoké
    non-attributive
    possessive – plural     		tankéi tankokéi
    Possessive forms of tank
    possessor single possession multiple possessions
    1st person sing. tankom tankjaim
    2nd person sing. tankod tankjaid
    3rd person sing. tankja tankjai
    1st person plural tankunk tankjaink
    2nd person plural tankotok tankjaitok
    3rd person plural tankjuk tankjaik

    Derived terms

    [edit]
    Compound words

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ Tótfalusi, István. Idegenszó-tár: Idegen szavak értelmező és etimológiai szótára (’A Storehouse of Foreign Words: an explanatory and etymological dictionary of foreign words’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN

    Further reading

    [edit]
    • tank in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

    Indonesian

    [edit]
    Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia id

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Unadapted borrowing from Dutch tank, from English tank, from Portuguese tanque (“tank, liquid container”), originally from Indian vernacular for a large artificial water reservoir, cistern, pool, etc., for example, Gujarati ટાંકી (ṭā̃kī) or Marathi टाकी (ṭākī), from Sanskrit तडग (taḍaga, “pond”). Doublet of tangki.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank (plural tank-tank)

    1. tank, an armored fighting vehicle, armed with a gun in a turret, and moving on caterpillar tracks

    Alternative forms

    [edit]

    Synonyms

    [edit]

    Further reading

    [edit]

    Italian

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Unadapted borrowing from English tank.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank m (invariable)

    1. tank (military and container)

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ tank in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

    Norwegian Bokmål

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Borrowed from English tank.

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank m (definite singular tanken, indefinite plural tanker, definite plural tankene)

    1. a tank (container, as below)
    2. (military, nonstandard since 2005) a tank (armoured fighting vehicle) (form removed with the spelling reform of 2005; superseded by tanks)
      Synonym: stridsvogn

    Derived terms

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]

    Anagrams

    [edit]

    Norwegian Nynorsk

    [edit]

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Etymology 1

    [edit]

    Borrowed from English tank.

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank m (definite singular tanken, indefinite plural tankar, definite plural tankane)

    1. a tank (closed container for liquids or gases)
    2. (military, nonstandard since 2005) a tank (armoured fighting vehicle) ((pre-2005) alternative form of tanks)
      Synonym: stridsvogn
    Derived terms
    [edit]

    Etymology 2

    [edit]

    Verb

    [edit]

    tank

    1. imperative of tanka

    References

    [edit]

    Anagrams

    [edit]

    Polish

    [edit]
    tank (sense 1)
    tank (sense 2)

    Etymology

    [edit]

    Borrowed from Russian та́нк (tánk), borrowed from English tank (or the English term was directly borrowed to Polish). First attested in 1922.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank m inan(dated)

    2. tank (container for fluids)
      Hypernym: zbiornik
      duży tank ― big tank
      pojemność tanku ― tank's capacity
      stalowe tanki ― steel tanks
      • 1922, Stefan Żeromski, Wiatr od morza [Wind from the Sea]‎[7] (fiction), quoted in Narodowy Korpus Języka Polskiego, published 1957, archived from the original on 6 May 2006:
        Czy tanki wodne były zamknięte, czy otwarte — łódź stała.
        Whenever the water tanks were closed, or opened — the boat stood.
    4. (military) tank (armoured fighting vehicle)
      Synonym: czołg
      gąsienice tanków ― tank's caterpillar tracks
      lufy tanków ― tank's barrels
      niemieckie tanki ― German tanks
      radzieckie/ruskie/sowieckie tanki ― Russki/Soviet tanks
      rosyjskie/ruskie tanki ― Russian/Russki tanks

    Declension

    [edit]
    Declension of tank
    singular plural
    nominative tank tanki
    genitive tanku tanków
    dative tankowi tankom
    accusative tank tanki
    instrumental tankiem tankami
    locative tanku tankach
    vocative tanku tanki

    Derived terms

    [edit]
    nouns
    [edit]
    nouns

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank m animal

    2. (board games, roleplaying games, video games) tank (role playing character)[1]

    Declension

    [edit]
    Declension of tank
    singular plural
    nominative tank tanki
    genitive tanka tanków
    dative tankowi tankom
    accusative tanka tanki
    instrumental tankiem tankami
    locative tanku tankach
    vocative tanku tanki

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ “Tank”, in GRYOnline.pl‎[1] (in Polish) (dictionary), Webedia Polska SA, 26 April 2018, archived from the original on 25 February 2025

    Further reading

    [edit]
    • tank in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
    • tank in Polish dictionaries at PWN

    Swedish

    [edit]
    tank

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank c

    1. tank (container for liquids)

    Declension

    [edit]
    Declension of tank
    nominative genitive
    singular indefinite tank tanks
    definite tanken tankens
    plural indefinite tankar tankars
    definite tankarna tankarnas
    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]

    Anagrams

    [edit]

    Turkish

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From English tank.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    tank (definite accusative tankı, plural tanklar)

    1. tank

    Declension

    [edit]
    Declension of tank
    singular plural
    nominative tank tanklar
    definite accusative tankı tankları
    dative tanka tanklara
    locative tankta tanklarda
    ablative tanktan tanklardan
    genitive tankın tankların
    Possessive forms
    nominative
    singular plural
    1st singular tankım tanklarım
    2nd singular tankın tankların
    3rd singular tankı tankları
    1st plural tankımız tanklarımız
    2nd plural tankınız tanklarınız
    3rd plural tankları tankları
    definite accusative
    singular plural
    1st singular tankımı tanklarımı
    2nd singular tankını tanklarını
    3rd singular tankını tanklarını
    1st plural tankımızı tanklarımızı
    2nd plural tankınızı tanklarınızı
    3rd plural tanklarını tanklarını
    dative
    singular plural
    1st singular tankıma tanklarıma
    2nd singular tankına tanklarına
    3rd singular tankına tanklarına
    1st plural tankımıza tanklarımıza
    2nd plural tankınıza tanklarınıza
    3rd plural tanklarına tanklarına
    locative
    singular plural
    1st singular tankımda tanklarımda
    2nd singular tankında tanklarında
    3rd singular tankında tanklarında
    1st plural tankımızda tanklarımızda
    2nd plural tankınızda tanklarınızda
    3rd plural tanklarında tanklarında
    ablative
    singular plural
    1st singular tankımdan tanklarımdan
    2nd singular tankından tanklarından
    3rd singular tankından tanklarından
    1st plural tankımızdan tanklarımızdan
    2nd plural tankınızdan tanklarınızdan
    3rd plural tanklarından tanklarından
    genitive
    singular plural
    1st singular tankımın tanklarımın
    2nd singular tankının tanklarının
    3rd singular tankının tanklarının
    1st plural tankımızın tanklarımızın
    2nd plural tankınızın tanklarınızın
    3rd plural tanklarının tanklarının
    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=tank&oldid=88315313"