Difference between revisions of "Arm"
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*The [[verb]] 'to '''arm'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> means | *The [[verb]] 'to '''arm'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> means | ||
**[[transitive]]ly 'to supply with weapons, or armaments', as in 'The USA armed its allies with copious supplies of ammunition'. [[Passive]]ly this can mean 'equipped', [[literal]]ly 'with weapons', e.g. 'the German battleship ''Bismarck'' was principally armed with 8 38 cm (~15 inch) guns; or [[figurative]]ly, e.g. 'he was '''armed''' with an invincible sense of his own rightness'. | **[[transitive]]ly 'to supply with weapons, or armaments', as in 'The USA armed its allies with copious supplies of ammunition'. [[Passive]]ly this can mean 'equipped', [[literal]]ly 'with weapons', e.g. 'the German battleship ''Bismarck'' was principally armed with 8 38 cm (~15 inch) guns; or [[figurative]]ly, e.g. 'he was '''armed''' with an invincible sense of his own rightness'. | ||
| − | **[[Intransitive]]ly, often [[reflexive]]ly, 'to '''arm''' [oneself]' is to equip [oneself] for some coming struggle, again either literally or figuratively. | + | **[[Intransitive]]ly, often [[reflexive]]ly, 'to '''arm''' [oneself]' is to equip [oneself] for some coming struggle, again either literally or figuratively. [[Byron]] wrote, in his description of the ball held in Brussels before the battle of [[Warerloo]], of how a new sound was heard above the music and gaiety |
| − | + | :::'''Arm!''' arm! it is — it is — the cannon’s opening roar! | |
| − | + | ::::::::::::''Childe Harold'', c.II, xxii | |
| + | ***The phrase 'to take up arms',where 'arms' is a [[plural]] [[noun]] - the singular is rare - has a similar meaning, with the general use of 'to turn a disagreement into an armed combat', or a political dispute into a war'. | ||
| + | |||
| + | *The [[noun]] 'an '''arm'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> means 'the human fore- (or upper) limb', of which the usual number is two. | ||
| + | **This may be used [[figurative]]ly to mean 'a branch [of an organization]', 'a subsidiary section'. This is common in military discussion, as when 'aviation is an essential '''arm''' of the Navy', or the three '''arms''' of the pre-modern army, infantry, cavalry and artillery. | ||
::For a similar confusion of [[homophone]]s, see [[Alms - arms]]. | ::For a similar confusion of [[homophone]]s, see [[Alms - arms]]. | ||
Revision as of 14:01, 26 March 2014
Two words written arm form one of the sets of homophones listed by the then Poet Laureate Robert Bridges.
(For more, see Bridges homophones). AWE has a category listing our articles on each of these. The words arm are pronounced IPA: /É‘Ëm/ in RP.
- The verb 'to arm' means
- transitively 'to supply with weapons, or armaments', as in 'The USA armed its allies with copious supplies of ammunition'. Passively this can mean 'equipped', literally 'with weapons', e.g. 'the German battleship Bismarck was principally armed with 8 38 cm (~15 inch) guns; or figuratively, e.g. 'he was armed with an invincible sense of his own rightness'.
- Intransitively, often reflexively, 'to arm [oneself]' is to equip [oneself] for some coming struggle, again either literally or figuratively. Byron wrote, in his description of the ball held in Brussels before the battle of Warerloo, of how a new sound was heard above the music and gaiety
- Arm! arm! it is — it is — the cannon’s opening roar!
- Childe Harold, c.II, xxii
- Arm! arm! it is — it is — the cannon’s opening roar!
- The noun 'an arm' means 'the human fore- (or upper) limb', of which the usual number is two.
- This may be used figuratively to mean 'a branch [of an organization]', 'a subsidiary section'. This is common in military discussion, as when 'aviation is an essential arm of the Navy', or the three arms of the pre-modern army, infantry, cavalry and artillery.
- For a similar confusion of homophones, see Alms - arms.
