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Glite Dictionary
🧍 Arms and legs wide 🧍 To stretch out ⛸️ To skate wide 🏆 To defeat easily 🌍 To cover widely
to spread-eagle

to spread-eagle

8.2
To glide on ice with legs turned out and arms wide
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈsprɛdˌiɡəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hacer un spread eagle (patinaje)
  • The skater spread-eagled gracefully across the rink, earning applause from the crowd.

Examples

  • She practiced spread-eagling during her routine to improve her presentation.

  • He spread-eagled at the end of his performance for dramatic effect.

  • She loves to spread-eagle on the ice during her routine.

  • The figure skater spread-eagled beautifully at the end of her performance.

  • The skater performed a flawless spread-eagle as she glided across the ice with her arms wide open.

  • During the competition, he wowed the judges by executing a perfect spread-eagle that showcased his balance.

  • As she practiced on the rink, her favorite move was the spread-eagle, which always drew applause from the crowd.

How Wide

to spread-eagle
  • Specialized
8.2
akimbo
1 9.9

Surface Forms

spread-eagle infinitive
spread-eagled past
spread-eagled past participle
spread-eagling present participle
spread-eagles third person singular

Morphology

spread-eagle = spread + eagle (semi-transparent) = spread + eagle

The form clearly combines 'spread' and 'eagle', but the skating term is a specialized image rather than a fully literal combination.

Etymology

Spread-eagle in skating is named for the look of an eagle with its spread 'wings'—the skater turns the legs out and stretches the arms to make a wide, open shape. That image explains why the move is called a spread-eagle.