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spread eagle

a. The figure of an eagle with wings and legs spread.

b. The emblem on the obverse of the Great Seal of the United States.

2. A posture or design resembling such an emblem or figure.

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spread eagle

c. 17th-century medallion depicting the Brandenburg Eagle

spread-ea·gle (sprĕdē′gəl)

adj.

1. Positioned with the arms and legs stretched out.

2. Informal Full of patriotic or jingoistic rhetoric.

v. spread-ea·gled, spread-ea·gling, spread-ea·gles

v.tr.

To place in a spread-eagle position, especially as a means of punishment.

v.intr.

1. To assume a spread-eagle position.

2. To make a grandiloquent, patriotic speech.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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