split-second

See also: split second

English

WOTD – 7 September 2024

Etymology

From split (adjective) +‎ second (noun), from split second(s) hands: see sense 1.^[1][2]

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌsplɪtˈsɛk(ə)nd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌsplɪtˈsɛkənd/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛkənd
• Hyphenation: split-sec‧ond

Noun

split-second (plural split-seconds)

2. (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.
3. 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, archived from the original on 2023-04-18:

     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

• split second

Translations

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: Hokkien: 一目𥍉仔／一目𱳅仔 (zh-min-nan) (chi̍t-ba̍k-nih-á, literally “in the twinkling of an eye”), 一絲仔久／一丝仔久 (chi̍t-si-á-kú, chi̍t-siá-kú, literally “a thread long”) Mandarin: 剎那／刹那 (zh) (chànà, chànuó, shànà), 一剎那／一刹那 (zh) (yīchànà, yīchànuó, yīshànà), 一瞬間／一瞬间 (zh) (yīshùnjiān) 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 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

• nick of time

References

1. “split-second, adj. and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.
2. “split second, n.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Further reading

• Split Second (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia