Small, thin, sharp pieces of wood or other material that stick out from a surface or lodge under skin.
From Middle Dutch 'splinter' meaning a piece torn off or splintered. The word may be related to 'split,' and the plural form adds '-s' for multiple fragments.
Your body's immune system creates inflammation around a splinter because it recognizes the foreign object as a threat—and that same inflammatory response is actually what pushes the splinter out, making your body's pain an active healing mechanism.
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