arms

B2 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ɑɹmz/ UK /ɑːmz/ See IPA manual

Freq #1127

Meanings

1

noun
Weapons, especially guns, considered as a group.

The soldiers were ordered to lay down their arms and surrender.
2

noun
The official symbol or design representing a family, city, or country (coat of arms).

The arms of the city show a golden lion on a red shield.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · weapons, especially guns,... weaponry weapons munitions

2 noun · the official symbol or... coat of arms

Word family

Derived forms antiarmsarmsbearingarmshousearmsmaker

Appears in

Phrases (6)

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nuclear arms
weapons that use nuclear reactions to cause destruction

Adjective + noun
small arms
light, portable firearms such as rifles and pistols

Adjective + noun
lay down arms
stop fighting and surrender one's weapons

Verb + noun
take up arms
begin to fight, especially by picking up weapons

Verb + noun
conventional arms
non-nuclear weapons such as guns, artillery, and tanks

Adjective + noun
under arms
armed and ready for military fighting

Preposition + noun

Idioms (3)

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Proverbs (1)

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Your arms are too short to box with God

Etymology

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 2.

armes Middle English *h₂er-mo- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# arms

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ɑɹmz/
**IPA (UK):** /ɑːmz/
**Frequency rank:** 1127

## Meanings
1. Weapons, especially guns, considered as a group.
2. The official symbol or design representing a family, city, or country (coat of arms).

## Examples
- The soldiers were ordered to lay down their arms and surrender.
- The arms of the city show a golden lion on a red shield.

## Derived Forms
- antiarms
- armsbearing
- armshouse
- armsmaker

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: armes
- Root: *h₂er-mo-

## Etymology
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 2.

## AI Etymology
Arms is 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 2. Important recorded forms include armes (Middle English) and *h₂er-mo- (Proto-Indo-European). Current senses include weapons, especially guns, considered as a group and the official symbol or design representing a family, city, or country (coat of arms). The wider family includes derived forms such as antiarms, armsbearing, armshouse, and armsmaker.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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arms

Meanings

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (6)

Idioms (3)

Proverbs (1)

Etymology

Topics

External links

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