arm

pronunciation

How to pronounce arm in British English: UK [ɑːm] word uk audio image

How to pronounce arm in American English: US [ɑːrm] word us audio image

Noun:

a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
an administrative division of some larger or more complex organization
any projection that is thought to resemble an arm
the part of an armchair or sofa that supports the elbow and forearm of a seated person
the part of a garment that is attached at armhole and provides a cloth covering for the arm
Verb:

prepare oneself for a military confrontation
supply with arms

Word Origin

arm: arm: [OE] The two distinct senses of arm, ‘limb’ and ‘weapon’, both go back ultimately to the same source, the Indo-European base *ar- ‘fit, join’ (which also produced art and article). One derivative of this was Latin arma ‘weapons, tools’, which entered English via Old French armes in the 13th century (the singular form was virtually unknown before the 19th century, but the verb arm, from Latin armāre via Old French armer, came into the language in the 13th century).The other strand is represented in several European languages, meaning variously ‘joint’, ‘shoulder’, and ‘arm’: Latin armus ‘shoulder’, for example, and Greek harmos ‘joint’. The prehistoric Germanic form was *armaz, from which developed, among others, German, Dutch, Swedish, and English arm.=> art, article

arm (n.1): "upper limb," Old English earm "arm," from Proto-Germanic *armaz (cognates: Old Saxon, Danish, Swedish, Middle Dutch, German arm, Old Norse armr, Old Frisian erm), from PIE root *ar- "fit, join" (cognates: Sanskrit irmah "arm," Armenian armukn "elbow," Old Prussian irmo "arm," Greek arthron "a joint," Latin armus "shoulder"). Arm of the sea was in Old English. Arm-twister "powerful persuader" is from 1938. Arm-wrestling is from 1899. They wenten arme in arme yfere Into the gardyn [Chaucer]

arm (n.2): "weapon," c. 1300, armes (plural) "weapons of a warrior," from Old French armes (plural), "arms, war, warfare," mid-13c., from Latin arma "weapons" (including armor), literally "tools, implements (of war)," from PIE root *ar- "fit, join" (see arm (n.1)). The notion seems to be "that which is fitted together." Meaning "heraldic insignia" (in coat of arms, etc.) is early 14c.; originally they were borne on shields of fully armed knights or barons.

arm (v.): "to furnish with weapons," c. 1200, from Old French armer or directly from Latin armare, from arma (see arm (n.2)). Related: Armed; arming.

2. Gm ventures , the corporation 's investment arm , is a financial backer .