spall.
A splinter, fragment or chip, especially of stone.
Meaning & usage
A splinter, fragment or chip, especially of stone.
A process of weathering, aging, or other wear that involves the crumbling of the substrate.
The failure of this bearing involved spall under high load.
The inspection of this bridge abutment found extensive spall.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English spalle (“a chip”) (first documented in 1440), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from the Middle English verb spald (“to split”) (c.1400), from Middle Low German spalden, cognate with Old High German spaltan (“to split”).
To break into fragments or small pieces.
To undergo weathering, aging, or other wear that involves the crumbling of the substrate.
When the bearing race spalled under high load, it led to the failure of the bearing.
Once the concrete had spalled extensively, the bridge could no longer pass an honest inspection.
To reduce, as irregular blocks of stone, to an approximately level surface by hammering.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English spalle (“a chip”) (first documented in 1440), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from the Middle English verb spald (“to split”) (c.1400), from Middle Low German spalden, cognate with Old High German spaltan (“to split”).
The shoulder.
Where this word comes from
From Italian spalla. Doublet of spauld and spatula.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.