plank

name

1. A surname.

noun

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.

1. A long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick.
2. 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.”

   “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.”

3. Physical exercise in which one holds a pushup position for a measured length of time.
4. A stupid person, idiot.
5. That which supports or upholds.

   “His charity is a better plank than the faith of an intolerant and bitter-minded bigot.”

verb

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.

1. To cover something with planking.

   “to plank a floor or a ship”

   “Plank'd with pine.”

2. To bake (fish, etc.) on a piece of cedar lumber.

   “Along the lower river, planked shad dinners (baked and broiled) were highly popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”

3. To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash.

   “to plank money in a wager”

   “Joe planked the money down in the officer of a newspaper editor and awaited results. There weren't any.”

4. To harden, as hat bodies, by felting.
5. To splice together the ends of slivers of wool, for subsequent drawing.
6. To pose for a photograph while lying rigid, face down, arms at side, in an unusual place.

   “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.”

   “Perth man Simon Carville became an internet sensation after he was photographed planking naked in the arms of famous Perth statue the Eliza.”