ARMS • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Arms

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/ɑrmz/ Listen

noun

Arms n. pl.

1.

Instruments or weapons of offense or defense. "He lays down his arms, but not his wiles." "Three horses and three goodly suits of arms."

2.

The deeds or exploits of war; military service or science. "Arms and the man I sing."

3.

(Law) Anything which a man takes in his hand in anger, to strike or assault another with; an aggressive weapon.

4.

(Her.) The ensigns armorial of a family, consisting of figures and colors borne in shields, banners, etc., as marks of dignity and distinction, and descending from father to son.

5.

(Falconry) The legs of a hawk from the thigh to the foot.

Bred to arms, educated to the profession of a soldier.

In arms, armed for war; in a state of hostility.

Small arms, portable firearms known as muskets, rifles, carbines, pistols, etc.

A stand of arms, a complete set for one soldier, as a musket, bayonet, cartridge box and belt; frequently, the musket and bayonet alone.

To arms! a summons to war or battle.

Under arms, armed and equipped and in readiness for battle, or for a military parade.

Arm's end,

Arm's length,

Arm's reach. See under Arm.

See images of 'Arms'

Etymology of 'Arms'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Arms" Quotes from Famous Books

... occasion, as his affairs seemed to assume a very unpromising aspect. Next day Rodrigo Ninno, and three or four others who refused to follow the example of Diaz, arrived at Lima in a wretched condition, having suffered a thousand insults from the conspirators, who deprived them of their horses and arms, and even stripped them of their clothes. Ninno was dressed in an old doublet and breeches, without stockings, having only a pair of miserable pack-thread sandals, and had walked all the way with a stick in his hand. The viceroy ...

— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 5 • Robert Kerr

... Bland, and in another moment Monsieur Delom's arms were pinioned behind him, while he struggled helplessly in the iron grasp of the ...

— Under the Great Bear • Kirk Munroe

... time Ming-Y, entering the chamber of his beloved, was surprised and deeply pained to find her in tears. "Sweetheart," she sobbed, wreathing her arms around his neck, "we are about to be separated forever, because of reasons which I cannot tell you. From the very first I knew this must come to pass; and nevertheless it seemed to me for the moment so cruelly sudden a loss, so unexpected a misfortune, that I could ...

— Some Chinese Ghosts • Lafcadio Hearn

... were in my own. I shall never forget her first visit to my studio on the corner of Fifth avenue and Twenty-sixth street. We had not met before, and I felt somewhat awed in the presence of an authoress. But in a few minutes we were fast friends. Taking one of my portfolios in her arms she asked, "May I sit down on the floor and take this in my lap?" Of course I assented. She pored over the contents with the delight of a child. Then turning to me she said, "This is what I have had a craving for all my life. There has always been a want unsupplied; I knew not what ...

— The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss • George L. Prentiss

... at that period had just emerged from a protracted war for the achievement of their independence. At the moment of its conclusion many of these tribes, as powerful as they were ferocious in their mode of warfare, remained in arms, desolating our frontier settlements. Under these circumstances the first treaties, in 1785 and 1790, with the Cherokees, were concluded by the Government of the United States, and were evidently sanctioned as measures of necessity adapted to the character of the Indians and indispensable ...

— A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, - Vol. 2, Part 3, Andrew Jackson, 1st term • Edited by James D. Richardson

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