arm
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: äm
ipa: /ɑːm/
enpr: ärm
ipa: /ɑɹm/
enpr: äm
ipa: /ɐːm/
rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)m
Forms: form: arms
form: arming
form: armed
form: armed
Etymology: Back-formation from arms (plural), from Middle English armes, from Old French armes, from Latin arma (“weapons”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-mo-, a suffixed form of *h₂er- (“to fit together”), hence ultimately cognate with etymology 1.
Senses: examples: text: The king armed his knights with swords and shields.
text: They were arming them with spears and shields, putting iron halfhelms on their heads, and arraying them along the inner wall, a rank of snowy sentinels. "Lord Winter has joined us with his levies," one of the sentries [said].
ref: 2015, George R. R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons, Bantam, →ISBN, page 593:
glosses: To supply with armour or (later especially) weapons.
examples: text: thou getteſt no more of me.
For I am ſure thy Office doth not arme thee with ſuch authoritie.
ref: 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act I:
text: arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Peter 4:1:
text: Many following him, and, in his journeyings, he visited many at their houses, and gave them consolation, arming them with steady resolves, to be patient in suffering and trust to God for their reward; […]
ref: 1801(?), John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress ... to which is Added, the Life and Death of the Author, page 359
text: [God] directed them to choose out three hundred only, and, arming them with nothing but trumpets and lamps, to send them by night into the camp of the Midianites.
ref: 1806, William turner, An Abstract of the History of the Bible ... With questions for examination, etc, page 43:
text: Q. In other words, you were commissioning men here in Cincinnati to attend the polls, arming them with authority to arrest citizens; men from outside of the city of Cincinnati to arrest citizens of the city of Cincinnati […]
ref: 1885, United States Congressional Serial Set, page 119:
text: Picture taking soothed support troops' anxieties twice over, empowering them as they navigated a strange environment, and arming them with proof that they really had served in a war.
ref: 2011, Meredith H. Lair, Armed with Abundance: Consumerism & Soldiering in the Vietnam War, Univ of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 215:
text: […] and arming them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.
ref: 2014, Susan Fawcett, Grassroots with Readings: The Writer's Workbook, Cengage Learning, →ISBN, page 466:
glosses: To supply with the equipment, knowledge, authority, or other tools needed for a particular task; to furnish with capability; to equip.
examples: text: Remember to arm the alarm system before leaving for work.
glosses: To prepare (a tool, weapon, or system) for action; to activate.
examples: text: Torpedoes were loosed, but the range was too short for them to actually arm, and they bounced harmlessly off the ship as it cut loose with its secondary and antiaircraft guns, smashing anything that it could see.
ref: 2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 14:43 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN), archived from the original on 17 Oct 2022:
topics: engineering
government
military
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
politics
tools
war
weapon
weaponry
qualifier: or system
glosses: To become prepared for action; to activate.
raw_tags: of a tool
examples: text: to arm the hilt of a sword; to arm a hook in angling
glosses: To cover or furnish with a plate, or with whatever will add strength, force, security, or efficiency.
examples: text: The sergeant sent out an order to arm the team for the next mission.
text: Are you arming, comrade Atheists?
Are you arming for the fray?
ref: 1974 February 2, Igor S. V. de Goldilox-Goldilox, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 32, page 14:
glosses: To take up weapons; to arm oneself.
glosses: To fit (a magnet) with an armature.
Synonyms: sense: furnish with weapons
word: beweapon
Derived terms: armable
arming press
arming sword
arm out
arm the lead
arm to the teeth
arm up
dearm
enarm
prearm
rearm
unarm
unarmed