Skip to the word

Added 7 October 2026

bank

/ˈbæŋk/ noun

In Latin: argentāria Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bank at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water).
they pulled the canoe up on the bank
A financial institution that accepts deposits and channels the money into lending activities.
he cashed a check at the bank
A long ridge or pile.
a huge bank of earth

verb

Tip laterally.
the pilot had to bank the aircraft
Enclose with a bank.
bank roads
Do business with a bank or keep an account at a bank.
Where do you bank in this town?

Origin

Inherited from Middle English banke, from Middle French banque, from Italian banca (“counter, moneychanger's bench or table”), from Lombardic bank (“bench, counter”), from Proto-West Germanic *banki, from Proto-Germanic *bankiz (“bench, counter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“to turn, curve, bend, bow”). Doublet of bench, banc, and banco. For the bench-bank relation, compare typologically Russian ла́вка (lávka), прила́вок (prilávok).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word