Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SPLIT, v.i.

1. To burst; to part asunder; to suffer disruption; as, vessels split by the freezing of water in them. Glass vessels often split when heated too suddenly.
2. To burst with laughter. Each had a gravity would make you split. – Pope.
3. To be broken; to be dashed to pieces. We were driven upon a rock, and the ship immediately split. – Swift. To split on a rock, to fail; to err fatally; to have the hopes and designs frustrated. – Spectator.