plank

Definition

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

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 and planche, and plancha, borrowed later from Middle French, Modern French, and Spanish, respectively.

Example Sentences

• "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."
• "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; […]"