Wiktionary

friable

English

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WOTD – 18 March 2010

Etymology

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Borrowed from French friable, from Latin friābilis (“friable”), from friō (“I crumble”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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friable (comparative more friable, superlative most friable)

  1. Easily broken into small fragments, crumbled, or reduced to powder.
    • 1977, Angela Carter, The Passion of New Eve:
      Spiders had woven their vague trapezes between the friable heads of dead peonies in enormous glass jars streaked with tide marks where the water had evaporated long ago.
    • 1983, Lawrence Durrell, Sebastian, Avignon Quintet edition, Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 1020:
      This light, friable type of material offered excellent insulation against both desert heat and also the cold of darkness during the winter.
  2. (of soil) Loose and large-grained in consistency.
    • 1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough:
      So while two men under his directions were digging the grave with sticks in the friable granitic soil, he superintended the costume of the other actors in the drama.
  3. (of poisons) Likely to crumble and become airborne, thus becoming a health risk
    • April 1987, Old-House Journal:
      It is when asbestos-containing products are friable that hazardous asbestos fibers are likely to be released and sent airborne.
  4. (mathematics, of a number) Smooth: that factors completely into small prime numbers.

Synonyms

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  • (easily broken into small fragments): crumbly

Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

See also

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References

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Latin friābilis, from friō (“to crumble”).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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friable (plural friables)

  1. crumbly
  2. crummy, pitiful

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Spanish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈfɾjable/ [ˈfɾja.β̞le]
  • Rhymes: -able
  • Syllabification: fria‧ble

Adjective

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friable m or f (masculine and feminine plural friables)

  1. friable, crumbly

Derived terms

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Further reading

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