arm

She stood with her right arm extended and her palm forward to indicate “Stop!”

When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. He had him gripped firmly by the arm, since he felt it was not safe to let him loose, and he had no immediate idea what to do with him.

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

And you stare at me
In your Jesus Christ pose
Arms held out
Like you've been carrying a load

1991, “Jesus Christ Pose”, in Chris Cornell (lyrics), Soundgarden (music), Badmotorfinger, performed by Soundgarden, Track 4:

(anatomy) The portion of the upper human appendage, from the shoulder to the wrist and sometimes including the hand.

The arm and forearm are parts of the upper limb in the human body.

(anatomy) The extended portion of the upper limb, from the shoulder to the elbow.

the arms of an octopus

A limb, or locomotive or prehensile organ, of an invertebrate animal.

[…] one arm of this jacket streamed behind him like the broidered arm of a huzzar’s surcoat.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “'”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 485:

[…] he noticed that a dark stain had appeared under the arm of her grey silk dress.

1970, J. G. Farrell, Troubles, New York: Knopf, published 1971, page 340:

Samad made a grab for the boy and caught him by the arm of his shirt.

2000, Zadie Smith, White Teeth, London: Hamish Hamilton, →ISBN, page 82:

The part of a piece of clothing that covers the arm.

The robot arm reached out and placed the part on the assembly line.

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.

Shelburne Bay is an arm of Lake Champlain.

(geography) A bay or inlet off a main body of water.

the cavalry arm of the military service

Congress has asked the Government Accountability Office, its investigative arm, to review the workplace complaints raised by air marshals, said Charles Young, a spokesman for the office.

2018 April 25, Ron Nixon, “Scandals and Investigations, but Few Arrests, for Air Marshals Program”, in The New York Times:

the arm of the law

the secular arm

To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 52:1:

(figurative) Power; might; strength; support.

The team needs to sign another arm in the offseason.

(genetics) One of the two parts of a chromosome.

break one's arm patting oneself on the back

one can't carry two watermelons under one arm

käsi

figurative: power; might; strength; support

From Middle English arm, from Old English earm, 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).


arm

And make him with our pikes and partisans / A grave: come, arm him.

1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

Arm your prize; / I know you will not lose him.

1613–1614 (date written), John Fletcher, William Shak[e]speare, The Two Noble Kinsmen: […], London: […] Tho[mas] Cotes, for Iohn Waterson; […], published 1634, →OCLC, (please specify the page), (please specify the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

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

en-verb

arm (third-person singular simple present arms, present participle arming, simple past and past participle armed)

arms (present singular third-person)
arming (participle present)
armed (participle past)
armed (past)


arm

(UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland) Poor; lacking in riches or wealth.

(UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland) To be pitied; pitiful; wretched.

en-adj

arm (comparative armer or more arm, superlative armest or most arm)

armer (comparative)
more arm (comparative)
armest (superlative)
most arm (superlative)

From Middle English arm (“poor, wretched”), from Old English earm (“poor, miserable, pitiful, wretched”), from Proto-West Germanic *arm, from Proto-Germanic *armaz (“poor”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁erm- (“poor, ill”).
Cognates
Akin to Dutch arm (“poor”), German arm (“poor”), Yiddish אָרעם (orem, “poor”), Swedish arm (“poor”).


arm

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

1789, Second Amendment to the United States Constitution:

The next thing I laid hold of was a brace of pistols, and as I already had a powder horn and bullets, I felt myself well supplied with arms.

1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

The Duke's arms were a sable gryphon rampant on an argent field.

(in the plural) Heraldic bearings or insignia.

(in the plural, obsolete) War; hostilities; deeds or exploits of war.

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.


arm

The king armed his knights with swords and shields.

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].

2015, George R. R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons, Bantam, →ISBN, page 593:

(transitive) To supply with armour or (later especially) weapons.

thou getteſt no more of me.
For I am ſure thy Office doth not arme thee with ſuch authoritie.

1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], Act I:

arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Peter 4:1:

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; […]

1801(?), John Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress ... to which is Added, the Life and Death of the Author, page 359

[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.

1806, William turner, An Abstract of the History of the Bible ... With questions for examination, etc, page 43:

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 […]

1885, United States Congressional Serial Set, page 119:

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.

2011, Meredith H. Lair, Armed with Abundance: Consumerism & Soldiering in the Vietnam War, Univ of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 215:

[…] and arming them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.

2014, Susan Fawcett, Grassroots with Readings: The Writer's Workbook, Cengage Learning, →ISBN, page 466:

(transitive, figurative) To supply with the equipment, knowledge, authority, or other tools needed for a particular task; to furnish with capability; to equip.

Remember to arm the alarm system before leaving for work.

(transitive) To prepare (a tool, weapon, or system) for action; to activate.

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.

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 2022-10-17:

(intransitive, of a tool, weapon, or system) To become prepared for action; to activate.

to arm the hilt of a sword; to arm a hook in angling

(transitive) To cover or furnish with a plate, or with whatever will add strength, force, security, or efficiency.

Are you arming, comrade Atheists?
Are you arming for the fray?

1974 February 2, Igor S. V. de Goldilox-Goldilox, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 32, page 14:

(intransitive) To take up weapons; to arm oneself.

(transitive) To fit (a magnet) with an armature.

vahvistaa

to cover with whatever that will add strength, force, security, or efficiency

varustaa

to furnish with means of defence; to prepare for resistance; to fortify