From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Friable \Fri"a*ble\, a. [L. friabilis, fr. friare to rub, break,
or crumble into small pieces, cf. fricare to rub, E. fray:
cf. F. friable.]
Easily crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder. "Friable
ground." --Evelyn. "Soft and friable texture." --Paley. --
Fri'a*ble*ness, n.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 :
friable
adj 1: easily broken into small fragments or reduced to powder;
"friable sandstone"; "friable carcinomatous tissue";
"friable curds formed in the stomach"
2: (used of soil) loose and large-grained in consistency;
"light sandy soil" [syn: light, sandy]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :
27 Moby Thesaurus words for "friable":
breakable, brittle, brittle as glass, crackable, crimp, crisp,
crispy, crumbly, crump, crushable, delicate, fissile, flimsy,
fracturable, fragile, frail, frangible, lacerable, pulverizable,
pulverulent, scissile, shatterable, shattery, shivery, splintery,
triturable, vulnerable