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splinter

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splinter off (of) (something)

 and splinter off (from something)

[for a bit of something] to tear off or separate from something. (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) A piece of wood splintered off of the oar and dropped into the water. A tiny bit splintered off and stuck in my hand.

See also: off, splinter

splinter group

A part of an organization that breaks away from the main body, usually owing to disagreement. For example, Perot's supporters at first constituted a splinter group but soon formed a third political party . This idiom alludes to the noun splinter, a fragment of wood or some other material that is split or broken off. [Mid-1900s]

See also: group, splinter