spraddle
To spread apartTo spread apart (the legs).
Meaning
3 senses(transitive)To spread apart (the legs).
(transitive)To spread apart the legs of (someone or something).
(intransitive)To lie, move, or stand with legs spread.
Origin
Uncertain; possibly from sprad, an obsolete dialectal past participle of spread; or a blenUncertain; possibly from sprad, an obsolete dialectal past participle of spread; or a blend of sprawl + straddle or spread + straddle, or perhaps from Middle English *spraddelen; a frequentative form of Middle English spradden, spraden, sprēden (“to lay flat, spread; to distribute, scatter, sow”), from Old English sprǣdan (“to expand, spread; to outspread, stretch forth”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- (“to sow, sprinkle, strew”), equivalent to spread + -le. Compare also dialectal Norwegian spradla (“to flail, squirm, thrash about”).
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Forms
spraddles, spraddling, spraddled, spraddledWord family
1 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle