plank

The story

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromφάλαγξ
2. Latin · derived fromphalanga
3. Vulgar Latin · derived fromplanca
4. Old Northern French · derived fromplanque
5. Old French · derived fromplanke
6. Middle English · inherited fromplank
7. English todayplank

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

Words from the same roots