Split

Split , Ital. Spalato, city (1991 pop. 189,388), S Croatia, on the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea. It is a major seaport, a regional transportation hub, and a leading commercial center. Shipbuilding and the production of plastics, chemicals, and cement are the leading industries. The city's scenic location and historic monuments make it an important tourist and seaside resort.

Split grew around the palace of Diocletian (who died there), built between 295 and 305. In the 7th cent. the inhabitants of nearby Salona took refuge from the Avars in the palace, which became the nucleus of the city. Split soon was made an episcopal, later an archiepiscopal, see of the Roman Catholic Church and became a flourishing port of medieval Dalmatia . It passed to Venice in 1420, but the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797) gave it to Austria, to which it was restored (1815) after the Napoleonic Wars. It was included in Yugoslavia in 1918. The city was the site of much fighting after the breakup of Yugoslavia.

The city has an archaeological museum, an oceanographic institute, and a university. The palace of Diocletian is the most remarkable among the Roman remains in Split. Its other ancient buildings include the cathedral and the baptistery, both originally Roman temples; parts of its ancient walls and gates; and the town hall.

split. Engaged, e.g. half-baluster attached to a pedestal.

split / split/ • v. (split·ting ; past and past part. split ) 1. break or cause to break forcibly into parts, esp. into halves or along the grain: [intr.] the ice cracked and heaved and split | [tr.] split and toast the muffins. ∎  remove or be removed by breaking, separating, or dividing: [tr.] the point was pressed against the edge of the flint to split off flakes | [intr.] an incentive for regions to split away from countries. ∎  divide or cause to divide into parts or elements: [intr.] the river had split into a number of channels | [tr.] splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen. ∎  [tr.] divide and share (something, esp. resources or responsibilities): they met up and split the booty. ∎  [tr.] cause the fission of (an atom). ∎  [tr.] issue new shares of (stock) to existing stockholders in proportion to their current holdings. 2. (with reference to a group of people) divide into two or more groups: [intr.] let's split up and find the other two | [tr.] once again the family was split up. ∎  [intr.] end a marriage or an emotional or working relationship: I split up with my boyfriend a year ago. ∎  [tr.] (often be split) (of an issue) cause (a group) to be divided because of opposing views: the party was deeply split over its future direction. 3. [intr.] inf. (of one's head) suffer great pain from a headache: my head is splitting | [as adj.] (splitting) a splitting headache. 4. [intr.] inf. leave a place, esp. suddenly: “Let's split,” Harvey said. 5. [intr.] Brit., inf. betray the secrets of or inform on someone: I told him I wouldn't split on him. • n. 1. a tear, crack, or fissure in something, esp. down the middle or along the grain: light squeezed through a small split in the curtain. ∎  an instance or act of splitting or being split; a division: the split between the rich and the poor. ∎  a separation into parties or within a party; a schism: the accusations caused a split in the party. ∎  an ending of a marriage or an emotional or working relationship: a much-publicized split with his wife. ∎  short for stock split. 2. (a split or the splits) (in gymnastics and dance) an act of leaping in the air or sitting down with the legs straight and at right angles to the upright body, one in front and the other behind, or one at each side: I could never do a split before. 3. a thing that is divided or split, in particular: ∎  a bun, roll, or cake that is split or cut in half. ∎  a split osier used in basketwork. ∎  each strip of steel or cane that makes up the reed in a loom. ∎  half a bottle or glass of champagne or other liquor. ∎  a single thickness of split hide. ∎  (in bowling) a formation of standing pins after the first ball in which there is a gap between two pins or groups of pins, making a spare unlikely. ∎  a drawn game or series. ∎  a split-level house. 4. the time taken to complete a recognized part of a race, or the point in the race where such a time is measured. PHRASES: split the difference take the average of two proposed amounts. split hairssee hair. split one's sides (also split a gut) inf. be convulsed with laughter: the dynamic comedy duo will have you splitting your sides with laughter. split the ticket (or one's vote) vote for candidates of more than one party. split the vote (of a candidate or minority party) attract votes from another candidate or party with the result that both are defeated by a third.