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.
April 1987, Old-House Journal
Wikipedia foundation.
friable — [ frijabl ] adj. • 1535; lat. friabilis, de friare « broyer » ♦ Qui peut facilement se réduire en menus fragments, en poudre. « un coteau lézardé, éraillé, friable à force de sécheresse » (Gautier). Galette à pâte friable. ● friable adjectif… … Encyclopédie Universelle
Friable — Fri a*ble, a. [L. friabilis, fr. friare to rub, break, or crumble into small pieces, cf. fricare to rub, E. fray: cf. F. friable.] Easily crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder. Friable ground. Evelyn. Soft and friable texture. Paley. {Fri… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
friable — Friable. adj. de tout genre. Terme Dogmatique. Qui est cassant, & facile à estre reduit en poudre. Le verre est friable. le sel est friable … Dictionnaire de l'Académie française
friable — 1560s, from M.Fr. friable and directly from L. friabilis easily crumbled or broken, from friare rub away, crumble into small pieces, related to fricare to rub. Related: Friability … Etymology dictionary
friable — Relativo a algo que fácilmente se quiebra, desmenuza o pulveriza. Diccionario Mosby Medicina, Enfermería y Ciencias de la Salud, Ediciones Hancourt, S.A. 1999 … Diccionario médico
friable — index dilapidated Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
friable — short, frangible, crisp, brittle, *fragile Analogous words: crumbling or crumbly, disintegrating (see corresponding verbs at DECAY) … New Dictionary of Synonyms
friable — (Del lat. friabĭlis, desmenuzable). adj. Que se desmenuza fácilmente … Diccionario de la lengua española
friable — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ easily crumbled. DERIVATIVES friability noun. ORIGIN Latin friabilis, from friare to crumble … English terms dictionary
friable — [frī′ə bəl] adj. [Fr < L friabilis < friare, to rub, crumble < IE base * bhrēi , to cut, scrape > Russ briti, to shave, L fricare, to rub] easily crumbled or crushed into powder SYN. FRAGILE friability n. friableness … English World dictionary
friable — 1. Easily reduced to powder. 2. In bacteriology, denoting a dry and brittle culture falling into powder when touched or shaken. [L. friabilis, fr. frio, to crumble] * * * fri·a·ble frī ə bəl adj easily crumbled or pulverized <friable… … Medical dictionary
