SPLINT, SPLINTER, noun [G.] 1. A piece of wood split off; a thin piece (in proportion to its thickness, ) of wood or other solid substance, rent from the main body; as splinters of a ships side or mast, rent off by a shot. 2. In surgery, a thin piece of wood or other substance, used to hold or confine a broken bone when set. 3. A piece of bone rent off in a fracture. SPLINT, SPLINTER, verb transitive 1. To split or rend into long thin pieces; to shiver; as, the lightning splinters a tree. 2. To confine with splinters, as a broken limb.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI