Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Bank

{

Banc

, ‖

Ban′cus

,

Bank

, }
Noun.
[OF.
banc
, LL.
bancus
. See
Bank
,
Noun.
]
A bench; a high seat, or seat of distinction or judgment; a tribunal or court.
In banc
,
In banco
(the ablative of bancus),
In bank
,
in full court, or with full judicial authority;
as, sittings
in banc
(distinguished from sittings at
nisi prius
)
.

Bank

(băṉk)
,
Noun.
[OE.
banke
; akin to E.
bench
, and prob. of Scand. origin; cf. Icel.
bakki
. See
Bench
.]
1.
A mound, pile, or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding level; hence, anything shaped like a mound or ridge of earth;
as, a
bank
of clouds; a
bank
of snow
.
They cast up a
bank
against the city.
2 Sam. xx. 15.
2.
A steep acclivity, as the slope of a hill, or the side of a ravine.
3.
The margin of a watercourse; the rising ground bordering a lake, river, or sea, or forming the edge of a cutting, or other hollow.
Tiber trembled underneath her
banks
.
Shakespeare
4.
An elevation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shoal, shelf, or shallow;
as, the
banks
of Newfoundland
.
5.
(Mining)
(a)
The face of the coal at which miners are working.
(b)
A deposit of ore or coal, worked by excavations above water level.
(c)
The ground at the top of a shaft;
as, ores are brought to
bank
.
Bank beaver
(Zool.)
,
the otter.
[Local, U.S.]
–
Bank swallow
,
a small American and European swallow (
Clivicola riparia
) that nests in a hole which it excavates in a bank.

Bank

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Banked
(băṉkt);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Banking
.]
1.
To raise a mound or dike about; to inclose, defend, or fortify with a bank; to embank.
“Banked well with earth.”
Holland.
2.
To heap or pile up;
as, to
bank
sand
.
3.
To pass by the banks of.
[Obs.]
Shak.
To bank a fire
,
To bank up a fire
,
to cover the coals or embers with ashes or cinders, thus keeping the fire low but alive.

Bank

,
Noun.
[Prob. fr. F.
banc
. Of German origin, and akin to E.
bench
. See
Bench
.]
1.
A bench, as for rowers in a galley; also, a tier of oars.
Placed on their
banks
, the lusty Trojan sweep
Neptune’s smooth face, and cleave the yielding deep.
Waller.
2.
(Law)
(a)
The bench or seat upon which the judges sit.
(b)
The regular term of a court of law, or the full court sitting to hear arguments upon questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at Nisi Prius, or a court held for jury trials. See
Banc
.
Burrill.
3.
(Printing)
A sort of table used by printers.
4.
(Music)
A bench, or row of keys belonging to a keyboard, as in an organ.
Knight.

Bank

,
Noun.
[F.
banque
, It.
banca
, orig. bench, table, counter, of German origin, and akin to E.
bench
; cf. G.
bank
bench, OHG.
banch
. See
Bench
, and cf.
Banco
,
Beach
.]
1.
An establishment for the custody, loan, exchange, or issue, of money, and for facilitating the transmission of funds by drafts or bills of exchange; an institution incorporated for performing one or more of such functions, or the stockholders (or their representatives, the directors), acting in their corporate capacity.
2.
The building or office used for banking purposes.
3.
A fund to be used in transacting business, especially a joint stock or capital.
Let it be no
bank
or common stock, but every man be master of his own money.
Bacon.
4.
(Gaming)
The sum of money or the checks which the dealer or banker has as a fund, from which to draw his stakes and pay his losses.
Bank credit
,
a credit by which a person who has given the required security to a bank has liberty to draw to a certain extent agreed upon.
–
Bank of deposit
,
a bank which receives money for safe keeping.
–
Bank of issue
,
a bank which issues its own notes payable to bearer.

Bank

,
Verb.
T.
To deposit in a bank.
Johnson.

Bank

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To keep a bank; to carry on the business of a banker.
2.
To deposit money in a bank; to have an account with a banker.

Webster 1828 Edition

Bank

BANK

,
Noun.
[Bank and bench are radically the same word. The sense is, that which is set, laid or extended. Applied to a mass of earth, it is a collection, that which is thrown or laid together.]
1.
A mound, pile or ridge of earth, raised above the surrounding plain, either as a defense or for other purposes. 2 Sam.xx 15.
2.
Any steep acclivity, whether rising from a river, a lake, or the sea, or forming the side of a ravine, or the steep side of a hillock on a plain. When we speak of the earth in general adjoining a lake or the sea, we use the word shore; but a particular steep acclivity on the side of a lake, river or the sea, is called a bank.
3.
A bench,or a bench of rowers, in a galley; so called from their seat.
Placed on their banks, the lusty Trojans sweep.
4.
By analogy, a collection or stock of money, deposited, by a number of persons, for a particular use; that is, an aggregate of particulars, or a fund; as, to establish a bank, that is a joint fund.
5.
The place where a collection of money is deposited; a common repository of the money of individuals or of companies; also a house used for a bank.
6.
A company of persons concerned in a bank, whether a private association, or an incorporated company; the stockholders of a bank, or their representatives, the directors, acting in their corporate capacity.
7.
An elevation, or rising ground, in the sea; called also flats, shoals, shelves or shallows. These may rise to the surface of the water or near to it; but the word bank signifies also elevated ground at the bottom of the sea, when many fathoms below the surface, as the banks of Newfoundland.

Definition 2024

Bank

Bank

See also: bank, Bánk, bänk, and Bänk

German

Noun

Bank f ‎(genitive Bank, plural Bänke)

  1. bench (which people sit on)); pew
  2. workbench (which things can be set down on)
  3. bank (collection of material in a body of water)
  4. (soccer) substitutes' bench
Declension
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Italian banco ‎(“bench, bank”), from the same Old High German word banc, bank ‎(“height”) as above.

Noun

Bank f ‎(genitive Bank, plural Banken)

  1. bank (financial institution)
  2. a facility for storage of a particular thing:
Declension
Derived terms

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɑŋk/
    • Rhymes: -ɑŋk

Noun

Bank f ‎(plural Banken)

  1. bank (financial institution)

bank

bank

See also: Bank, Bánk, bänk, and Bänk

English

Alternative forms

Noun

bank ‎(plural banks)

  1. An institution where one can place and borrow money and take care of financial affairs.
    • 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:
      Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. […] Banks and credit-card firms are kept out of the picture. Talk to enough people in the field and someone is bound to mention the “democratisation of finance”.
  2. A branch office of such an institution.
  3. An underwriter or controller of a card game; also banque.
  4. A fund from deposits or contributions, to be used in transacting business; a joint stock or capital.
    • Francis Bacon
      Let it be no bank or common stock, but every man be master of his own money.
  5. (gambling) The sum of money etc. which the dealer or banker has as a fund from which to draw stakes and pay losses.
  6. (slang, uncountable) money; profit
    • 2010, Paul Bouchard, Enlistment (page 113)
      Military dude was working for a drug dealer, right? and making good bank with it—he was making good money.
  7. In certain games, such as dominos, a fund of pieces from which the players are allowed to draw.
  8. A safe and guaranteed place of storage for and retrieval of important items or goods.
    blood bank; sperm bank; data bank‎
  9. A device used to store coins or currency.
    If you want to buy a bicycle, you need to put the money in your piggy bank.
Synonyms
  • (controller of a card game): banker
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations

Verb

bank ‎(third-person singular simple present banks, present participle banking, simple past and past participle banked)

  1. (intransitive) To deal with a bank or financial institution.
    He banked with Barclays.
  2. (transitive) To put into a bank.
    I'm going to bank the money.
Translations
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Middle English banke, from Old English hōbanca ‎(“couch”) and Old English banc ‎(“bank, hillock, embankment”), from Proto-Germanic *bankô. Akin to Old Norse bakki ‎(“elevation, hill”).

Noun

bank ‎(plural banks)

  1. (hydrology) An edge of river, lake, or other watercourse.
    • Shakespeare
      Tiber trembled underneath her banks.
    • 2014, Ian Jack, "Is this the end of Britishness", The Guardian, 16 September 2014:
      Just upstream of Dryburgh Abbey, a reproduction of a classical Greek temple stands at the top of a wooded hillock on the river’s north bank.
  2. (nautical, hydrology) An elevation, or rising ground, under the sea; a shallow area of shifting sand, gravel, mud, and so forth (for example, a sandbank or mudbank).
    the banks of Newfoundland
  3. (geography) A slope of earth, sand, etc.; an embankment.
  4. (aviation) The incline of an aircraft, especially during a turn.
  5. (rail transport) An incline, a hill.
  6. A mass noun for a quantity of clouds.
    The bank of clouds on the horizon announced the arrival of the predicted storm front.
  7. (mining) The face of the coal at which miners are working.
  8. (mining) A deposit of ore or coal, worked by excavations above water level.
  9. (mining) The ground at the top of a shaft.
    Ores are brought to bank.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

bank ‎(third-person singular simple present banks, present participle banking, simple past and past participle banked)

  1. (intransitive, aviation) To roll or incline laterally in order to turn.
  2. (transitive) To cause (an aircraft) to bank.
  3. (transitive) To form into a bank or heap, to bank up.
    to bank sand
  4. (transitive) To cover the embers of a fire with ashes in order to retain heat.
  5. (transitive) To raise a mound or dike about; to enclose, defend, or fortify with a bank; to embank.
    • Holland
      banked well with earth
  6. (transitive, obsolete) To pass by the banks of.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
Translations

Etymology 3

Middle English bank ‎(“bank”), banke, from Old French banc ‎(“bench”), from Frankish *bank. Akin to Old English benc ‎(“bench”).

Noun

bank ‎(plural banks)

  1. A row or panel of items stored or grouped together.
    a bank of switches
    a bank of pay phones
    • 2011 December 10, Marc Higginson, “Bolton 1 - 2 Aston Villa”, in BBC Sport:
      Wanderers were finally woken from their slumber when Kevin Davies brought a fine save out of Brad Guzan while, minutes after the restart, Klasnic was blocked out by a bank of Villa defenders.
  2. A row of keys on a musical keyboard or the equivalent on a typewriter keyboard.
Translations

Verb

bank ‎(third-person singular simple present banks, present participle banking, simple past and past participle banked)

  1. (transitive, order and arrangement) To arrange or order in a row.

Etymology 4

Probably from French banc. Of German origin, and akin to English bench.

Noun

bank ‎(plural banks)

  1. A bench, as for rowers in a galley; also, a tier of oars.
    • Waller
      Placed on their banks, the lusty Trojans sweep / Neptune's smooth face, and cleave the yielding deep.
  2. A bench or seat for judges in court.
  3. The regular term of a court of law, or the full court sitting to hear arguments upon questions of law, as distinguished from a sitting at nisi prius, or a court held for jury trials. See banc.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Burrill to this entry?)
  4. (archaic, printing) A kind of table used by printers.
  5. (music) A bench, or row of keys belonging to a keyboard, as in an organ.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
  6. (uncountable) slang for money

Anagrams

Crimean Tatar

Noun

bank

  1. bank (financial institution)

Declension

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowing from French banque, from Italian banco ‎(“bench”).

Noun

bank c (singular definite banken, plural indefinite banker)

  1. bank (financial institution, branch office, controller of a game, a safe and guaranteed place of storage)
Derived terms
Declension

Etymology 2

From German Bank ‎(“bench”).

Noun

bank c

  1. only used in certain expressions
Derived terms
  • over en bank

Noun

bank n (singular definite banket, plural indefinite bank)

  1. knock (an abrupt rapping sound)
  2. (pl) a beating
Synonyms
Declension

Verb

bank

  1. imperative of banke

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɑŋk
  • IPA(key): /bɑŋk/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch banc, from Old Dutch *bank, from Proto-Germanic *bankiz.

Noun

bank m, f ‎(plural banken, diminutive bankje n)

  1. bank (financial institution)
  2. couch, sofa, bench
  3. place where seashells are found
  4. shallow part of the sea near the coast

Derived terms

Hungarian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbɒŋk]

Noun

bank ‎(plural bankok)

  1. bank (financial institution)

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative bank bankok
accusative bankot bankokat
dative banknak bankoknak
instrumental bankkal bankokkal
causal-final bankért bankokért
translative bankká bankokká
terminative bankig bankokig
essive-formal bankként bankokként
essive-modal — —
inessive bankban bankokban
superessive bankon bankokon
adessive banknál bankoknál
illative bankba bankokba
sublative bankra bankokra
allative bankhoz bankokhoz
elative bankból bankokból
delative bankról bankokról
ablative banktól bankoktól
Possessive forms of bank
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. bankom bankjaim
2nd person sing. bankod bankjaid
3rd person sing. bankja bankjai
1st person plural bankunk bankjaink
2nd person plural bankotok bankjaitok
3rd person plural bankjuk bankjaik

Derived terms

(Compound words):

Maltese

Noun

bank m ‎(plural banek)

  1. bank

Noun

bank m ‎(plural bankijiet)

  1. bench

Middle English

Noun

bank (plural banks)

  1. the bank of a river or lake

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bɑŋk/

Etymology 1

Borrowing from French banque, from Italian banco ‎(“bench”), banca.

Noun

bank m ‎(definite singular banken, indefinite plural banker, definite plural bankene)

  1. a bank (financial institution)
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Verb

bank

  1. imperative of banke

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowing from French banque, from Italian banco ‎(“bench”), banca.

Noun

bank m ‎(definite singular banken, indefinite plural bankar, definite plural bankane)

  1. a bank (financial institution)

Derived terms

References

Old High German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *bankiz.

Noun

bank f

  1. bench

Descendants

Polish

Etymology

From Italian banco, from German Bank.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [bãŋk]

Noun

bank m inan

  1. bank

Declension

Derived terms

References

  1. ↑ Brückner, Aleksander (1927), “bank”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego: “z włosk. banco, ‘stół wekslarski’, a to z niem. Bank;”

Slovene

Noun

bánk

  1. inflection of bánka:
    1. genitive dual
    2. genitive plural

Swedish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbaŋːk/

Noun

bank c

  1. a bank (financial institution, branch of such an institution)
  2. a bank (place of storage)
  3. a bank (of a river of lake)
  4. a sandbank

Declension

Inflection of bank 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative bank banken banker bankerna
Genitive banks bankens bankers bankernas

Derived terms

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowing from French banc.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɑŋk/
  • Hyphenation: bank

Noun

bank ‎(definite accusative bankı, plural banklar)

  1. bench (long seat)

Declension

Volapük

Noun

bank ‎(plural banks)

  1. bank (financial institution)

Declension

Etymology

From Old High German banc, bank ‎(“height”), from Proto-Germanic *bankiz. Related to Old Saxon bank.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /baŋk/
  • Rhymes: -aŋk

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