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, n. [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.