splint, noun

Origin:
EnglishShow more Special sense of general English splint splinter of wood or stone.
Diamond-trade
A fractured or broken fragment of diamond. See also melee.
1872 C.J. Rhodes in B. Williams Cecil Rhodes (1921) 29You must not..think that every diamond one finds is a beauty, the great proportion are nothing but splints.
1887 J.W. Matthews Incwadi Yami 415Faithfully carrying out their master’s bequests, and never robbing him of a single splint.
1903 W. Catelle Precious Stones 79Beyond the small pieces resulting from cleavages, other fragments are saved which cannot be cut to jewels. Some of these are called ‘splints’, and are used for mechanical purposes or ground to powder.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 466Splint, The term applied on the Diamond Fields to a fractured diamond.
1973 Beeton & Dorner in Eng. Usage in Sn Afr. Vol.4 No.2, 54Splint,..a fractured diamond.
A fractured or broken fragment of diamond.
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18721973