What is a bank cheque?

[littlelamb]

At the risk of sounding very stupid, can anyone tell me what a bank cheque is? SOmeone is sending me one instead of a personal cheque so I can send something he's bought from me quicker. Is this safe and legit is what I really need to know.
Thanks

If it's similar to a building sociey cheque I think it means they're guaranteed (eg you can't get a building society cheque without having the money in your account - you draw it out instead of cash)

when I took out a loan for a car afew years ago I got a bank cheque and paid that to the car dealership. Its basically a cheque signed by a rep of the bank that you will cash as normal through your bank.

Thank you. So basically it is guaranteed to clear? Does it take the same ammount of time as a regular cheque? I am quite paranoid, as it was quite an expensive item and I can't afford to be duped, iyswim

It's a Bankers Draft - drawn on the bank itself instead of a person. IIRC still takes as long to clear as a normal cheque though.