arm

Meaning

Noun

1. The portion of the upper human appendage, from the shoulder to the wrist and sometimes including the hand.
2. The extended portion of the upper limb, from the shoulder to the elbow.
3. A limb, or locomotive or prehensile organ, of an invertebrate animal.
4. The part of a piece of clothing that covers the arm.
5. A long, narrow, more or less rigid part of an object extending from the main part or centre of the object, such as the armrest of an armchair, a crane, a pair of spectacles or a pair of compasses.
6. A bay or inlet off a main body of water.
7. A branch of an organization.
8. (figuratively) Power; might; strength; support.
9. (slang) A pitcher
10. One of the two parts of a chromosome.
11. A group of patients in a medical trial.

Verb

To take by the arm; to take up in one's arms.

Adj

1. (Scotland, UK, dialectal) Poor; lacking in riches or wealth.
2. (Scotland, UK, dialectal) To be pitied; pitiful; wretched.

Verb

1. (transitive) To supply with armour or (later especially) weapons.
2. (figuratively, transitive) To supply with the equipment, knowledge, authority, or other tools needed for a particular task; to furnish with capability; to equip.
3. (transitive) To prepare (a tool, weapon, or system) for action; to activate.
4. (intransitive) To become prepared for action; to activate.
5. (transitive) To cover or furnish with a plate, or with whatever will add strength, force, security, or efficiency.
6. (intransitive) To take up weapons; to arm oneself.
7. (transitive) To fit (a magnet) with an armature.

Synonyms

hand

✋

weapon

branch

forearm

wing

🪽

sleeve

shoulder

side

upper arm

equip

limb

upper

build up

gird

armrest

finger

subdivision

wrist

weapon system

militarize

handle

fortify

reinforce

foreleg

five

militarise

brachium

armor

tool

right arm

division

lower arm

arms

armament

furnish

elbow-rest

cove

contradiction

bearer

contingent

compartment

base

command

cladding

axis

carpus

assemble

armour

armature

fit out

Translations

bras

brazo

Arm

braccio

braço

arm

arme

braç

kol

main

✋

arma

armare

Waffe

armer

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɑːm/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: arm

Inherited from Old English: earm

Cognate with Dutch: arm

Cognate with German: Arm

Cognate with Yiddish: אָרעם

Cognate with Danish: -

Cognate with Norwegian: -

Cognate with Swedish: arm

Cognate with Latin: armus

Cognate with Armenian: արմունկ

Cognate with Ancient Greek: ἁρμός

Cognate with Avestan: 𐬀𐬭𐬨𐬀

Cognate with German: arm

Inherited from Middle English: armes

Cognate with Latin: arma

In summary

From Middle English arm, from Old English earm (Anglian arm), from Proto-West Germanic *arm, from Proto-Germanic *armaz (“arm”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂(e)rmos (“a fitting, joint; arm, forequarter”), a suffixed form of *h₂er- (“to join, fit together”).
Cognates
Akin to Dutch arm, German Arm, Yiddish אָרעם (orem), Danish, Norwegian and Swedish arm. Indo-European cognates include Latin armus (“the uppermost part of the arm, shoulder”), Bulgarian рамо (ramo), Polish ramię, Serbo-Croatian rȁme, Armenian արմունկ (armunk, “elbow”), Ancient Greek ἁρμός (harmós, “joint, shoulder”) and ἅρμα (hárma, “wagon, chariot”), Avestan 𐬀𐬭𐬨𐬀 (arma), Old Persian [script needed] (arma).

Sentences

When he was in hospital , the nurse took an x-ray photograph of his arm .