splice
verbEtymology Circa 1525, borrowed from Middle Dutch splissen (Modern Dutch splitsen); akin to Middle Dutch splitten (“to split”), German spleißen (“to split, splice”), Spliss (“split ends, hair breakage”), French épisser (also from Dutch). The Dutch word originally referred only to the fraying of the ropes' ends but was then also used for the entire process of fraying and retying; hence the peculiar semantic development from “split” to “join”. The same development occurred in German.
To unite, as two ropes, or parts of a rope, by a particular manner of interweaving the strands, the union being between two ends, or between an end and the body of a rope.
To unite, as spars, timbers, rails, etc., by lapping the two ends together, or by applying a piece which laps upon the two ends, and then binding, or in any way making fast.
Slang To unite in marriage.
- But come, it's getting dreadful late, you had better be turning flukes--it's a nice bed; Sal and me slept in that ere bed the night we were spliced.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 3”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
- Ah! thinkin’ o’ gettin’ spliced, you two?1937, Dorothy L. Sayers, Busman's Honeymoon:
Figuratively To unite as if splicing.
- He argues against attempts to splice different genres or species of literature into a single composition.
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences, Software To add, remove and/or replace several array/data elements in one operation.
- Derived terms
- intersplice, missplice, resplice, spliceable, splicer, splice the mainbrace, transplice