Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SPRAWL, v.i. [The origin and affinities of this word are uncertain. It may be a contracted word.]

1. To spread and stretch the body carelessly in a horizon position; to lie with the limbs stretched out or struggling. We say, a person lies sprawling; or he sprawls on the bed or on the ground. – Hudibras.
2. To move, when lying down, with awkward extension and motions of the limbs; to scrabble or scramble in creeping. The birds were not fledged, but in sprawling and struggling to get clear of the flame, down they tumbled. – L'Estrange.
3. To widen or open irregularly, as a body of horse.