Definition
verbTo divide fully or partly along a more or less straight line.
verbOf something solid, particularly wood, to break along the grain fully or partly along a more or less straight line.
Sentence Examples
The committee was split over the project.
The money will probably be split evenly between those two.
He was a member of the team that split the atom in 1932.
Word Origin & History
Attested since about 1567, from Middle Dutch splitten (“to split”) and/or Middle Low German splitten (“to split”), both ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *splittjan, an intensive form of Proto-West Germanic *splītan (“to split”), from Proto-Germanic *splītaną (whence Danish splitte, Low German splieten, German spleißen), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pley- (“to split, splice”).
Compare Middle English ysplett (“split”, past participle of splatten (“to split”)), Old English speld (“splinter”), Old High German spaltan (“to split”), Middle Irish slis (“splinter”), Lithuanian spaliai (“flax sheaves”), Czech půl (“half”), Old Church Slavonic рас-плитати (ras-plitati, “to cleave, split”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"a huge vessel of exceeding hard marble split asunder by congealed water"
— 1659 December 30 (date written), Robert Boyle, New Experiments Physico-Mechanicall, Touching the Spring of the Air, and Its Effects […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] H[enry] Hall, printer to the University, for Tho[mas] Robinson, published 1660, →OCLC:
"The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom. This system splits water molecules and delivers some of their electrons to other molecules that help build up carbohydrates."
— 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, archived from the original on 03 Sep 2013:
"Presently the 57-strong Class 378 fleet is split between the East London line and North London line, with 29 units allocated on the east side."
— 2019 October, “Funding for 20tph East London Line service”, in Modern Railways, page 18:
"Carlo and Carmen Vidal / just had a child / A lovely girl with a crooked smile / Now they gotta split 'cause the Bronx ain't fit / For a kid to grow up in"
— 1979, Machine, “There but For the Grace of God Go I”, in Machine:
"I had this Palm Springs gig set up for Joey and the bitch split. Least he ain't nowhere around."
— 1980, Paul Schrader, American Gigolo, spoken by Leon (Bill Duke):