spale

Meanings

nounspale (plural spales)

plural spales · alternative spail · alternative speal · alternative spell · alternative spyle · alternative spile

ScotlandNow chiefly dialectalA chip or splinter of wood.
A lath; a shaving or chip, as of wood or stone.
A strengthening cross timber.
businessOne of a number of crossbands fastened temporarily to the frames to keep them in place until properly secured.
Synonyms: spaling

Synonyms & antonyms

nounOne of a number of crossbands fastened temporarily to the frames to keep them in place until properly secured.

Similar

spaling

Also see

spaling

Origin

Proto-Indo-European*(s)pala-
Proto-Germanic*speldą“that which is split, splinter, board”
Old Englishspeld“ember, flake, torch, splinter, thin piece of wood used as a torch”
Proto-Germanic*spaluz“pole, rod, thin bar, lath”
Old Norsespǫlr“plank, rail, bar, short piece of wood”
Old English*spalu“flat bar, flake, chip”
Middle Englishspale“splinter”
Englishspale

From Middle English spale (“splinter”), perhaps partly from Old English *spalu (“flat bar, flake, chip”) or Old Norse spǫlr (“plank, rail, bar, short piece of wood”), both from Proto-Germanic *spaluz (“pole, rod, thin bar, lath”); and partly as an alteration of Old English speld (“ember, flake, torch, splinter, thin piece of wood used as a torch”), from Proto-Germanic *speldą (“that which is split, splinter, board”); both from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pala-, *(s)pel- (“to split in two, split in half”). Cognate with Middle High German spale ("rung of a ladder"; > dialectal German Spale (“a wooden split, wedge”)), dialectal Swedish spalu (“splinter”), dialectal Norwegian spel, spela, spila (“a splinter”), Icelandic spölur (“bit, short piece”). See also split.