friable

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• enPR: frī'ə-bəl, IPA^(key): /ˈfɹaɪəbl̩/
• Rhymes: -aɪəbəl

Adjective

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, Faber & Faber 2004 (Avignon Quintet), p. 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.
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.

References

• friable in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• friable in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

• fabrile, firable

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʁi.jabl/
• Homophone: friables
• Hyphenation: fri‧able

Adjective

friable (plural friables)

1. crumbly
2. crummy, pitiful

References

• “friable” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Adjective

friable (plural friables)

1. friable, crumbly