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Where does the word "splint" come from? It comes from Middle Dutch splinte, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
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Where does the word "splint" come from? It comes from Middle Dutch splinte, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).
Splint’s story begins in Middle Dutch: splinte meant “metal plate, pin.” A thin piece of metal or wood. It reached English by 1300s as splint. First for overlapping plates of armour; the surgical sense followed. Today, splint means a strip of rigid material used to support a broken bone.
- Stage 1 · Middle Dutch · medieval splinte "metal plate, pin", a thin piece of metal or wood.
- Stage 2 · English · 1300s splint "bone support", first for overlapping plates of armour; the surgical sense followed.