sliver

sliver
    n 1: a small thin sharp bit or wood or glass or metal; "he got a
         splinter in his finger"; "it broke into slivers" [syn:
         {splinter}, {sliver}]
    2: a thin fragment or slice (especially of wood) that has been
       shaved from something [syn: {paring}, {sliver}, {shaving}]
    v 1: divide into slivers or splinters [syn: {sliver},
         {splinter}]
    2: break up into splinters or slivers; "The wood splintered"
       [syn: {splinter}, {sliver}]
    3: form into slivers; "sliver wood"
    

sliver \sliv"er\ (sl[i^]v"[~e]r or sl[imac]"v[~e]r; 277), v. t.
   [imp. & p. p. {slivered} (sl[i^]v"[~e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n.
   {slivering}.] [See {Slive}, v. t.]
   To cut or divide into long, thin pieces, or into very small
   pieces; to cut or rend lengthwise; to slit; as, to sliver
   wood. --Shak.
   [1913 Webster]

         They 'll sliver thee like a turnip.      --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Sliver \Sliv"er\, n.
   1. A long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment,
      as of glass; a splinter.
      [1913 Webster +PJC]

   2. A strand, or slender roll, of cotton or other fiber in a
      loose, untwisted state, produced by a carding machine and
      ready for the roving or slubbing which preceeds spinning.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. pl. Bait made of pieces of small fish. Cf. {Kibblings}.
      [Local, U.S.] --Bartlett.
      [1913 Webster]
    

63 Moby Thesaurus words for "sliver":
      bit, black sheep, blemish, butt, carve, chip, chunk, clip,
      clipping, collop, crumb, cut, cutting, dollop, end, flake,
      foreign body, foreign intruder, fragment, gob, gobbet, haggle,
      hunk, impurity, intruder, lump, misfit, modicum, moiety,
      monkey wrench, morceau, morsel, mote, nip, oddball, paring,
      particle, patch, piece, rasher, scoop, scrap, shard, shave,
      shaving, shiver, shred, slice, slip, smithereen, snack, snatch,
      snick, snip, snippet, speck, splinter, stitch, stone, stump, tag,
      tatter, weed