splay

[spley] Origin

splay

[spley]
verb (used with object)
1.
to spread out, expand, or extend.
2.
to form with an oblique angle; make slanting; bevel.
3.
to make with a splay or splays.
4.
to disjoin; dislocate.
verb (used without object)
5.
to have an oblique or slanting direction.
6.
to spread or flare.

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Splay is always a great word to know.
So is column. Does it mean:
a rigid, relatively slender, upright support, composed of relatively few pieces
a vault with a circular plan and usually in the form of a portion of a sphere
noun
7.
Architecture. a surface that makes an oblique angle with another, as where the opening through a wall for a window or door widens from the window or door proper toward the face of the wall.
adjective
8.
spread out; wide and flat; turned outward.
9.
clumsy or awkward.
10.
oblique or awry.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English; aphetic form of display

un·splayed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To splay
Collins
World English Dictionary
splay (spleɪ)
 
adj
1.  spread out; broad and flat
2.  turned outwards in an awkward manner
 
vb
3.  to spread out; turn out or expand
4.  (tr) vet science to dislocate (a joint)
 
n
5.  a surface of a wall that forms an oblique angle to the main flat surfaces, esp at a doorway or window opening
6.  enlargement
 
[C14: short for display]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

splay
"to spread out," early 14c., shortened form of desplayen (see display). Pp. adj. splayed "spread out" is attested from 1540s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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