1. noun
a) A narrow strip of wood split or peeled off of a larger piece.
1900 But it so happened that I had a man in the hospital at the time, and going there to see about him the day before the opening of the Inquiry, I saw in the white mens ward that little chap tossing on his back, with his arm in splints, and quite light-headed. Joseph Conrad, Lord Jim, [ Chapter 5.]
b) A device to immobilize a body part.
1819 The fore-part of his thighs, where the folds of his mantle permitted them to be seen, were also covered with linked mail; the knees and feet were defended by splints , or thin plates of steel, ingeniously jointed upon each other; and mail hose, reaching from the ankle to the knee, effectually protected the legs, and completed the riders defensive armour. — Walter Scott, Ivanhoe, [ Chapter 1.]
2. verb
a) To apply a splint.
b) To support ones abdomen with hands or a pillow before attempting to cough.
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