Meanings
plural gangplanks · alternative gang-plank · alternative gang plank
- nauticalA board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside.
1 more example
Every since the age of six Troy Belknap of New York had embarked for Europe every June on the fastest steamer of one of the most expensive lines. With his family he had descended at the dock from a large noiseless motor, had kissed his father good-bye, turned back to shake hands with the chauffeur (a particular friend), and trotted up the gang-plank behind his mother's maid, [...]
1918, Edith Wharton, chapter I, in The Marne, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 1
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna temporary bridge for getting on and off a vessel at dockside
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From gang (“way, path, course of travel”) + plank (“board”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 跳板, 踏板
- 跳板 (tiàobǎn)board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
- 踏板 (tàbǎn)board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Danish landgang
- landgangboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Dutch loopplank
- loopplankboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Finnish lankonki
- lankonkiboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
French passerelle d'embarquement
- passerelle d'embarquementboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
German Steg, Landungssteg
- Stegboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
- Landungsstegboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
- Landungsbrückeboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Hebrew גמלה, כֶּבֶשׁ
- גמלה (gamlah)board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
- כֶּבֶשׁ (kevesh)board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Italian passerella
- passerellaboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Norwegian Bokmål landgang
- landgangboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Portuguese prancha de desembarque
- prancha de desembarqueboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Russian схо́дня, трап
- схо́дня (sxódnja)board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
- трап (trap)board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Swedish landgång
- landgångboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Tagalog andamyo, tulay-tulayan
- andamyoboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
- tulay-tulayanboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Welsh pompren, pomprennau
- pomprenboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
- pomprennauboard used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside
Cite this entry
gangplank. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gangplank
“gangplank.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gangplank. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gangplank,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gangplank.
Source: gangplank on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.