21 December 2018
friable
[frahy-uh-buh l]
adjective
1. easily crumbled or reduced to powder; crumbly:
friable rock.
Origin of friable
Latin
1555-1565; < Latin friābilis, equivalent to friā(re) to rub, crumble + -ābilis -able
Related forms
friability, friableness, noun
unfriable, adjective
unfriableness, noun
Can be confused
friable, fryable.
Synonyms
fragile, frangible.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for friable
Historical Examples
The same field, well drained, is friable and porous, and uniform in texture.
Farm drainage
Henry Flagg French
The muscles are friable and are covered with ecchymotic spots.
Special Report on Diseases of the Horse
United States Department of Agriculture
As they are now friable and porous, they require to be delicately handled.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines
Andrew Ure
The bright colors are on the surface of the rock only, which is too friable to be preserved.
Wonders of the Yellowstone
James Richardson
The matter left in the pot will be blackish and friable when cold.
Elements of the Theory and Practice of Chymistry, 5th ed.
Pierre Joseph Macquer
Fruit large; flesh soft and friable, but juicy, pleasant and aromatic.
The Pears of New York
U. P. Hedrick
The paste varies from a friable clay to a hard, ringing stone-ware.
The Ceramic Art
Jennie J. Young
The rock through this whole district is of a soft, friable nature.
Letters from Palestine
J. D. Paxton
If clots are found at all, they are large, soft, and friable.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I
Various
Mellow, friable soils are not more important to any other crop than to flax.
Soil Culture
J. H. Walden
On this day
21 December 1913 – American newspaper, New York World, publishes the world’s first crossword puzzle. It was created by English journalist, Arthur Wynne.
21 December 1940 – birth of Frank Zappa, American revolutionary musician. Died 3 December 1993.
21 December 1991 – representatives of all Soviet Republics, except Georgia, signed the Alma-Ata Protocol which confirmed the Belavezha Accords of 8 December 1991 that declared the Soviet Union dissolved.
21 December 2012 – end of the world as predicted by the Ancient Mayans … or is it just the end of an age within their calendar? All was revealed … and it was a non-event …