spall
/spɔl/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.21 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A process of weathering, aging, or other wear that involves the crumbling of the substrate.
Uncountable
verb
To break into fragments or small pieces.
verb
To reduce, as irregular blocks of stone, to an approximately level surface by hammering.
Transitive verb
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "My father knew Bert Le Feuvre, the foreman of Griffith's yard, and there was a little heap of spawls waiting ready every night in summer after school for me to crack."
- "The failure of this bearing involved spall under high load."
- "The inspection of this bridge abutment found extensive spall."
- "Cobbed Ore is the ſpalled which is broke out of the ſolid large ſtones with ſledges"
- "Drones will give an idea of the worst bits, but if it's lightly spalled then I don't know if they will necessarily see that."
- "When the bearing race spalled under high load, it led to the failure of the bearing."
Etymology
From Middle English spalle (“a chip”) (first documented in 1440), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from the Middle English verb spald (“to split”) (c.1400), from Middle Low German spalden, cognate with Old High German spaltan (“to split”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /spɔl/
- British English: /spɔːl/