English

Drawing a spline.

Wooden box with splines of dark wood visible at the corner joints. See the close-up of a spline.

Noun

spline ‎(plural splines)

1. Long thin piece of metal or wood. [from the mid 18th c]
2. A rectangular piece that fits grooves like key seats in a hub and a shaft, so that while the one may slide endwise on the other, both must revolve together.
3. A flexible strip of metal or other material, that may be bent into a curve and used in a similar manner to a ruler to draw smooth curves between points.
4. (mathematics, computing) Any of a number of smooth curves used to join points.
5. (woodworking) A strip of wood or other material inserted into grooves in each of two pieces of wood to provide additional surface for gluing.

Coordinate terms

• (woodworking): biscuit, dowel, glue strip, finger joint

Derived terms

• B-spline
• cubic spline
• splined

Translations

See also

• French curve

Verb

spline ‎(third-person singular simple present splines, present participle splining, simple past and past participle splined)

1. (mathematics, computing) To smooth (a curve or surface) by means of a spline.
2. (engineering) To fit with a spline.
   • 1965 August, Popular Science, volume 187, page 133:

     Machining a straight spline with a lathe. Sometimes the task of splining a shaft comes up during a repair. Instead of sending out the job, use this setup to mill the splines on a lathe.

3. (engineering) To fasten to or together with a spline.
   • 1935 September, Popular Mechanics, volume 64, page 408:

     Engineers did not think two crankshafts could be synchronized. Wood, by splining the shafts in each gear box, proved it could be done.

   • 2004, Jack Erjavec, TechOne automatic transmissions, page 311:

     These packs can be holding or driving devices, depending on what they are splined to.

   • 2011, Mark Savitske, How to Make Your Muscle Car Handle, page 85:

     Splined bars are a big recent trend. Originally used in racing, the idea is to have a straight torsion bar with the ends splined like an axle and separate arms that fit on each end to mount the end links

Anagrams

• Pilsen
• spinel