Etymology

spandrel

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Today it means: The space (often more or less triangular) between the outer curve of an arch (the extrados) and a straight-sided figure that bounds it; the space between two contiguous arches and a straight feature above them. Full definition →

Old French espandre
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The story

  1. Old French · derived fromespandre“to expand, extend, spread”
  2. English todayspandrel

From a diminutive in -el of Anglo-Norman spaundre, of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old French espandre (“to expand, extend, spread”). More at spawn, expand. In the field of biology first used by Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.