split-second
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: split second and splitsecond
English
[edit ]Etymology
[edit ]From split (adjective) + second (noun), from split second(s) hands: see sense 1.[1] [2]
Pronunciation
[edit ]- (Received Pronunciation ) IPA (key): /ˌsplɪtˈsɛk(ə)nd/
- (General American ) IPA (key): /ˌsplɪtˈsɛkənd/
- Rhymes: -ɛkənd
- Hyphenation: split-sec‧ond
Noun
[edit ]split-second (plural split-seconds )
- (chiefly attributive ) A stopwatch with two second hands , each of which may be stopped separately to time the intervals of a race by a sportsperson, or to time more than one sportsperson.
- A fraction of a second; hence (figurative , also attributive ) a very short time period; an instant, a moment.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:moment
- 1912, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, "The Eye of Death; or, The Murder Charge", in Manalive , New York, N.Y.: John Lane, →OCLC, part II (The Explanations of Innocent Smith), page 182:
- It's very dangerous, though, when a man thinks for a split second that he understands death.
- 1959, William Golding, chapter 4, in Free Fall , Harbinger Books edition, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace & World, published 1962, →OCLC, page 82:
- I was in the gutter, sitting my bike, willing them to die, [...] or otherwise obliterated because this demanded split-second timing.
- 2021 September 15, Laura Martin, "How Talent Shows Became TV’s Most Bizarre Programmes", in BBC Online [1] , archived from the original on 18 April 2023:
- It appears [Simon] Cowell has been taking notes from South Korea, as his next talent show Walk The Line, coming later this year, has also been game-ified: it will see singers perform, then have to make the split-second decision of whether to take a cash prize or risk advancing in the competition instead.
Alternative forms
[edit ]Descendants
[edit ]- → Dutch: split second
Translations
[edit ]stopwatch with two second hands
- Finnish: väliaikaa tukeva , rattrapante
- Galician: please add this translation if you can
fraction of a second; very short time period
- Chinese:
- Dutch: fractie van een seconde f
- Finnish: sekunnin murto-osa
- French: fraction de seconde f
- Galician: please add this translation if you can
- German: Sekundenbruchteil (de) m
- Italian: frazione di secondo f
- Japanese: 刹那 (ja) (せちな, sechina (archaic); せつな, setsuna)
- Lithuanian: akimirka f
- Polish: ułamek sekundy m
- Tamil: இமைப்பொழுது (ta) (imaippoḻutu, literally "a twinkling of the eye")
- Turkish: salise (tr)
- Vietnamese: chớp mắt (vi) (literally "blink, wink"), nháy mắt , sát na (刹那 ), tích tắc (vi) (literally "tick-tock"), tức khắc (vi) (即刻 )
- Yoruba: òjijì
See also
[edit ]References
[edit ]- ^ "split-second, adj. and n.", in OED Online Paid subscription required , Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
- ^ "split second, n.", in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
Further reading
[edit ]- Split Second (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Dutch
[edit ]Noun
[edit ]split-second c (plural split-seconds , no diminutive )
- alternative spelling of split second
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)pley-
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sekw- (follow)
- English endocentric compounds
- English compound terms
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɛkənd
- Rhymes:English/ɛkənd/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English multiword terms
- English terms with quotations
- English adjective-noun compound nouns
- en:Units of time
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -s
- Dutch multiword terms
- Dutch common-gender nouns