plank

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 doublet planch, borrowed later from Middle French.

noun

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.
   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. 1996-08-24, Frank Bruni, “Dole Rejects a Party Plank”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   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; […] 2011, Guy Standing, chapter 1, in The Precariat, Bloomsbury Publishing, published 2016
3. Physical exercise in which one holds a pushup position for a measured length of time.
4. (Britain, slang) 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. 1829, Robert Southey, Sir Thomas More; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society

verb

1. (transitive) To cover something with planking.
   to plank a floor or a ship
2. (transitive) 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. 1998, Richard Gerstell, American Shad in the Susquehanna River Basin, page 147
3. (transitive, colloquial) 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. 1963, George Blaikie, Scandals of Australia's Strange Past, Adelaide: Rigby Limited, page 117
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.
   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. May 23, 2011, “Party finishes up in plonking after attempt at planking in Kingsford”, in Herald Sun
   Perth man Simon Carville became an internet sensation after he was photographed planking naked in the arms of famous Perth statue the Eliza. May 24, 2011, “Tourists snapped planking at iconic landmarks around the world”, in The Australian