| 释义 |
splay
I. \ˈsplā\ verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English splayen, short for displayen to spread out, unfold — more at display
transitive verb
1. : to cause to spread apart or open outward : expand
< splaying large, meaty hands over the table — Nigel Dennis >
— usually used with out
< splaying out their movable toes, they can move easily over marshy ground — C.D.Forde >
2. : to turn on one side : make oblique (as the side of a door or window)
3. : to draw together (the ends of staves) in forming a barrel, tub, or bucket
intransitive verb
1. : to become splayed : extend apart or outwards especially in an awkward or clumsy manner
< the front wheels were splaying like a llama's hoofs — A.W.Baum >
— usually used with out
< four delicate legs that unite in a central shaft near the base and splay out to support the top — Sheila Hibben >
2. : to lie at a slant : slope, slant
II. noun
(-s)
1. : an outward or expanding slope or bevel especially of the sides of a door or window by which an opening is made larger at one face of the wall than at the other or larger at each of the faces than it is between them
2. : the degree of outward slope : spread, expansion
< the splay of sheers is one-third of their effective length — Manual of Seamanship >
III. adjective
1. : turned outward especially in an awkward or ungainly manner
< splay knees >
also : broad and flat as from splaying
2. : clumsy, ungainly
< something splay, something blunt-edged, unhandy, and infelicitous — Matthew Arnold >
IV. transitive verb
Etymology: by alteration
dialect : spay |