spale
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spale
- /ˈspeɪl/
Rhymes with -eɪl
Where it comes from
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.
noun spales · spail · speal · spell · spyle · spile
- A chip or splinter of wood.
- A lath; a shaving or chip, as of wood or stone.
- A strengthening cross timber.
-
One of a number of crossbands fastened temporarily to the frames to keep them in place until properly secured.
Similar: spaling
Talk about this word "spale." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/spale. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. spale. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/spale "spale." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/spale.Cite this
@misc{spale_2026,
title = {spale},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/spale},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
