deck

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The flat floor of a ship that you can walk on.

   We stood on the deck and watched the harbour disappear.

2. 2
   noun

   A complete set of playing cards.

   He shuffled the deck and dealt seven cards to each player.

3. 3
   noun

   A set of slides for a presentation.

   She spent the evening polishing the slide deck for tomorrow's meeting.

4. 4
   verb

   To decorate something with attractive things.

   We decked the halls with holly for Christmas.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Deck originally denoted a covering material such as canvas, especially on a ship, and by the late 15th century referred to the planking that covered the space below. Its later senses include a stacked pack of cards, a use recorded from the late 16th century, and the American verb meaning “knock down,” which appeared in the 1940s and probably arose from the naval expression hit the deck. The verb meaning “decorate” is recorded from the early 16th century.

From Middle English dekke, borrowed from Middle Dutch dec (“roof, covering”), from Middle Dutch decken, from Old Dutch thecken, from Proto-West Germanic *þakkjan, from Proto-Germanic *þakjaną. Formed the same: German Decke (“covering, blanket”). Doublet of thatch and thack.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary