plank
/ˈplæŋk/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms planks planking planked
- noun A flat piece of wood on which to cook fish, so that the wood provides flavor and helps to produce a pleasing texture. “A dish called "plank salmon" likely includes a salmon filet cooked on a plank.”
- noun An object made of planks; planking.
- noun (cooking) A solid and substantial portion of an ingredient with a flat side, cooked and served whole. “That dish is served with a plank of cauliflower.”
- noun (exercise) Physical exercise in which one holds a position (usually with a flat back, like a plank) for a measured length of time.
- noun (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. “Germanization was a central plank of German conservative thinking in the 19th and 20th centuries.”
- noun (UK, slang) A stupid person, idiot.
- noun That which supports or upholds.
- verb (transitive) To cover something with planking. “to plank a floor or a ship”
- verb (transitive) To bake (fish, etc.) on a piece of cedar lumber.
- verb (transitive, colloquial) To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash. “to plank money in a wager”
- verb (transitive) To harden, as hat bodies, by felting.
- verb To splice together the ends of slivers of wool, for subsequent drawing.
- verb (intransitive) To pose for a photograph while lying rigid, face down, arms at side, in an unusual place.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
steak addle-brain addlehead addle pate airhead baboon beanbrain beetlebrain beetlehead berk bimbo birdbrain blockhead blubberbrain bonehead Boeotian boob bozo brainlet brickhead board plank over flump plonk plop plunk plump down plunk down plump
Etymology
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, planche, and plancha, borrowed later from Middle French, Modern French, and Spanish, respectively.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A broad piece of sawed timber, differing from a board only in being thicker. See Board.
- noun Fig.: That which supports or upholds, as a board does a swimmer.
- verb To cover or lay with planks; as, to plank a floor or a ship.
- verb To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash; as, to plank money in a wager. [Colloq. U.S.]
Etymology [OE. planke, OF. planque, planche, F. planche, fr. L. planca; cf. Gr. Planch.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “plank”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details