Etymologically
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planca

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Forms

planca f (genitive plancae); first declension[1] Medieval spellings include plancha, plancia and planchia.[2]

Etymology

The origin is disputed.[3][1] The TLL takes it as the feminine of the adjective from Latin plancus (“flat-footed”) used as a noun, and explains Romance forms such as ⟨palanca⟩ as blends with phalanga.[3] Etymonline also derives it, probably, from plancus “flat, flat-footed”, and traces that to a nasalised form of Proto-Indo-European *plak- (“to be flat”).[4] Wiktionary derives it from phalanga,[1] and Köbler from Ancient Greek φάλαγξ (phálanx).[5] The OLD and Lewis & Short compare Ancient Greek πλάξ (pláx).[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first author to use it is Tertullian, who calls baptism and confession two planks, as it were, for the shipwrecked sinner.[3][8] Paulus' epitome of Festus glosses plancae as flat boards.[7][3]

Semantic evolution

Palladius recommends oak planks under horses' stalls, so that the floor is soft for lying and hard for standing.[3][7] Inscriptions from Ravenna use it of stone slabs closing a grave.[3][6] Döderlein distinguishes plancae, unworked boards as they come from the saw (a technical term), from tabulae, boards smoothed by the plane.[9]

In Medieval Latin it meant a plank or board, of a ship or a bridge,[10][2] and also a land measure and a horseshoe.[2] It survives in Old French planche and Italian pianca,[1] and through Old North French planke it gave English plank.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it figuratively for baptism and confession as planks for the shipwrecked.[3][5]
  • end of 4th–beginning of 5th century AD – Palladius uses it of oak planks laid under horses' stalls.[3][5]
  • 639–709 AD – Aldhelm compares a body floating to the shore with the plank of a ship.[10][5]
  • 1176 – An English account uses it of planks bought for building work.[10]
  • late 13th century – English takes plank from Old North French.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A board, plank.[7][11][8]
  2. A slab placed on a grave.[6][7]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A plank of a ship or a gangway.[10]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A measure of land.[2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A horseshoe.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  9. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  10. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  11. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn