spelk

Etymology

From Middle English spelke, from Old English spilc, spelc (“a splint”), from Proto-Germanic *spelkō, *spalkō, *spalkuz (“bast, splint”).

noun

  1. (Northern English) A splinter, usually of wood.
  2. (Northern English) A wooden splinter caught under the skin.
  3. (Northern English) A rod or switch.
  4. (aerospace) Unusably short lengths of fibre-reinforced material, such as prepreg.

verb

  1. (transitive, Northern English) To use a spelk in or on.
    A spelk is often a hazel of two or three years' growth. It is pointed at each end, and is three or four feet long, and is placed at right angles with the thatch to hold it down. Sometimes a bit of very neat work is displayed in the spelking of the thatch […] 1884, Notes and Queries, page 193

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