splints

noun

An inferior kind of cannel coal from Scottish collieries, having a slaty structure.

1. A narrow strip of wood split or peeled from a larger piece.
2. A dental device applied consequent to undergoing orthodontia.
3. A device to immobilize a body part.
4. A segment of armour consisting of a narrow overlapping plate.
5. A bone found on either side of a horse's cannon bone; the second or fourth metacarpal (forelimb) or metatarsal (hindlimb) bone.
6. A disease affecting the splint bones, as a callosity or hard excrescence.

1. To apply a splint to; to fasten with splints.
2. To support one's abdomen with hands or a pillow before attempting to cough.
3. To split into thin, slender pieces; to splinter.