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splay

/spleɪ//spleɪ/·verb
to spread the ends of something out and apart from its base
Fig. 1 — Someone stands a tripod on the path with its legs still pressed together — one thin stilt, and it teeters the moment they let go.
01Definition

To splay is for the ends of a thing to fan out and apart from a common point — fingers splay on a window pane, a foal's legs splay for balance, tripod legs splay to hold a camera steady. The word is a medieval clipping of display, 'to unfold', and it often keeps a hint of the ungainly: limbs splayed where they landed rather than arranged. Where things spread to cover ground, they splay from a base they still share.

02In use
  • iThe old oak's roots splay across the path in every direction.
  • iiShe pressed her palm flat to the glass, fingers splayed wide.
  • iiiThe newborn foal stood with its legs splayed, swaying but upright.
03Collocations
  • splayed fingers
  • legs splayed out
  • splay outward
  • splayed feet
  • a splayed window opening

Family splayed (adjective) · splay (noun)

04Relations

=fan out, spread, widen, open out, sprawl

≠fold, close, clench

06TOEFL & IELTS

A precision word for describing-a-diagram and process tasks: use it when parts angle outward from a shared base — splayed roots, splayed legs, a splayed window reveal. Keep the register physical and concrete; splay is rarely figurative. The participle does most of the work in real usage (fingers splayed, legs splayed out), so practise it as an adjective too. Do not confuse it with spread, which covers area rather than fanning from a point.

07Asked
What does 'splayed out' mean?
Spread out and apart from the body or base, usually loosely or heavily — 'he lay splayed out on the sofa', 'her books lay splayed out across the desk'. It is the past participle of splay used as an adjective, and in everyday English this participle form is far more common than the bare verb itself.
Does splay suggest something awkward?
Often, yes. Dictionaries note that splay frequently implies spreading 'in an awkward manner' — a sleeper's limbs splayed across the whole bed, feet splayed like a duck's. It is not automatic: splayed fingers on a piano or a tripod's splayed legs are neutral, even purposeful. But when a whole body splays, the word usually paints something ungainly rather than graceful.
What is a splay in architecture?
As a noun, a splay is a surface cut at an oblique angle — most often the sides of a window or door opening that widen from the frame toward the room. Medieval castles used splayed openings so a narrow arrow-slit outside could give a wide field of view inside. The same idea survives in modern 'splayed reveals' that let more light in.
What are splayed feet?
Feet that point outward, away from each other, instead of straight ahead — the toes angle apart when standing or walking. English also keeps the old compound splayfoot for a flat foot turned outward. The phrase describes the position of the feet, not a medical judgement; ballet dancers deliberately stand splay-footed in first position.
Is splay the same as spread?
Close but not identical: splay is a special case of spread. Things spread to cover more area — butter, rumours, fire. Things splay when their ENDS fan out and apart from a base they still share, like the tripod legs in the scene above. You can spread a map, but you cannot splay one; you splay your fingers, and only loosely 'spread' them.
Can only body parts splay?
No — anything with limbs, legs or prongs radiating from a base can splay: tripod and easel legs, tent poles, a fork's tines bent out of line, roots and branches. Body parts simply dominate real usage because fingers, legs and toes are the classic things that fan from a joint. If the parts share an anchor point, splay fits.