n. [ OE. planke, OF. planque, planche, F. planche, fr. L. planca; cf. Gr. &unr_;, &unr_;, anything flat and broad. Cf. Planch. ] 1. A broad piece of sawed timber, differing from a board only in being thicker. See Board. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fig.: That which supports or upholds, as a board does a swimmer. [ 1913 Webster ]

His charity is a better plank than the faith of an intolerant and bitter-minded bigot. Southey. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To harden, as hat bodies, by felting. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Wooden Manuf.) To splice together the ends of slivers of wool, for subsequent drawing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Planked shad, shad split open, fastened to a plank, and roasted before a wood fire. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of laying planks; also, planks, collectively; a series of planks in place, as the wooden covering of the frame of a vessel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of splicing slivers. See Plank, v. t., 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Shipbuilding) The course of plank laid horizontally over the timberheads of a vessel's frame. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. plagto`n, neut. of plagto`s wandering, pla`zesqai to wander. ] (Biol.) All the animals and plants, taken collectively, which live at or near the surface of salt or fresh waters. -- Plank*ton"ic a. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]