Hypertext Webster Gateway: "plank"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Plank \Plank\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Planked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Planking}.]
1. To cover or lay with planks; as, to plank a floor or a
ship. ``Planked with pine.'' --Dryden.
2. To lay down, as on a plank or table; to stake or pay cash;
as, to plank money in a wager. [Colloq. U.S.]
3. To harden, as hat bodies, by felting.
4. (Wooden Manuf.) To splice together the ends of slivers of
wool, for subsequent drawing.
{Planked shad}, shad split open, fastened to a plank, and
roasted before a wood fire.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Plank \Plank\, n. [OE. planke, OF. planque, planche, F. planche,
fr. L. planca; cf. Gr. ?, ?, anything flat and broad. Cf.
{Planch}.]
1. A broad piece of sawed timber, differing from a board only
in being thicker. See {Board}.
2. Fig.: That which supports or upholds, as a board does a
swimmer.
His charity is a better plank than the faith of an
intolerant and bitter-minded bigot. --Southey.
3. One of the separate articles in a declaration of the
principles of a party or cause; as, a plank in the
national platform. [Cant]
{Plank road}, or {Plank way}, a road surface formed of
planks. [U.S.]
{To walk the plank}, to walk along a plank laid across the
bulwark of a ship, until one overbalances it and falls
into the sea; -- a method of disposing of captives
practiced by pirates.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
plank
n 1: a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of
sizes and used for many purposes [syn: {board}]
2: an endorsed policy in the platform of a political party
v 1: cover with planks, as of a wall or a floor; "The streets
were planked" [syn: {plank over}]
2: set (something or oneself) down; "He planked the money on
the table"; "He planked himself into the sofa" [syn: {flump},
{plonk}, {plop}, {plunk}, {plump down}, {plunk down}, {plump}]
3: cook and serve on a plank: "Planked vegetable"; "Planked
shad"
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