splint
/splɪnt/noun, verb
splint is spelled S-P-L-I-N-T: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, splint means “A narrow strip of wood split or peeled from a larger piece” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of splint is splints.
How many letters and syllables are in splint?
| Letters | 6: S-P-L-I-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is splint?
Splint appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce splint?
- /splɪnt/
Splint has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-splint.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of splint
- splints plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- splinting participle, present
- splinted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does splint mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A narrow strip of wood split or peeled from a larger piece.
- 2
A splinter caught in the skin.
- 3
A dental device applied consequent to undergoing orthodontia.
- 4
A device to immobilize a body part.
- 5
A segment of armour consisting of a narrow overlapping plate.
- 6
Synonym of splent coal.
- 7
A bone found on either side of a horse's cannon bone; the second or fourth metacarpal (forelimb) or metatarsal (hindlimb) bone.
- 8
A disease affecting the splint bones, as a callosity or hard excrescence.
verb
- 1
To apply a splint to; to fasten with splints.
- 2
To support one's abdomen with hands or a pillow before attempting to cough.
- 3
To press fingers against the vaginal wall to ease defecation.
- 4
obsoleterareTo split into thin, slender pieces; to splinter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Splint in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | éclisse , attelle |
| Portuguese | férula, tala |
| German | Schiene, Gipsschiene , Protrusionsschiene |
| Spanish | férula, tablilla , entablillar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does splint come from?
From Middle English splint, splent, splente, from Middle Low German splinte, splente or Middle Dutch splint, splinte. Cognate with Old High German splinza (“bar, bolt, latch”). All ultimately from Proto-Germanic *splintǭ, *splintō (“piece of wood, splinter”), from Proto-Germanic *splint-, *splind- (“to split”), from a nasalized form of *splītaną (“to split”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pley- (“to split, splice”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).