STRADDLE

I. verb (~d; straddling) Etymology: irregular from stride Date: 1565 intransitive verb to stand, sit, or walk with the legs wide apart, to spread out irregularly ; sprawl , to favor or seem to favor two apparently opposite sides, to execute a commodities market spread, transitive verb to stand, sit, or be astride of , to be noncommittal in regard to , to belong in part to (each of several categories) , ~r noun II. noun Date: 1611 the act or position of one who ~s, a noncommittal or equivocal position, spread 5