the upper limb of the human body, esp. the part extending from the shoulder to the wrist.
2.
the upper limb from the shoulder to the elbow.
3.
the forelimb of any vertebrate.
4.
some part of an organism like or likened to an arm.
5.
any armlike part or attachment, as the tone arm of a phonograph.
6.
a covering for the arm, esp. a sleeve of a garment: the arm of a coat.
7.
an administrative or operational branch of an organization: A special arm of the government will investigate.
8.
Nautical. any of the curved or bent pieces of an anchor, terminating in the flukes.
9.
an armrest.
10.
an inlet or cove: an arm of the sea.
11.
a combat branch of the military service, as the infantry, cavalry, or field artillery.
12.
power; might; strength; authority: the long arm of the law.
13.
Typography. either of the extensions to the right of the vertical line of a K or upward from the vertical stem of a Y.
—Idioms
14.
an arm and a leg, a great deal of money: Our night on the town cost us an arm and a leg.
15.
arm in arm, with arms linked together or intertwined: They walked along arm in arm.
16.
at arm's length, not on familiar or friendly terms; at a distance: He's the kind of person you pity but want to keep at arm's length.
17.
in the arms of Morpheus, asleep: After a strenuous day, he was soon in the arms of Morpheus.
18.
on the arm, Slang. free of charge; gratis: an investigation of policemen who ate lunch on the arm.
19.
put the arm on, Slang.
a.
to solicit or borrow money from: She put the arm on me for a generous contribution.
b.
to use force or violence on; use strong-arm tactics on: If they don't cooperate, put the arm on them.
20.
twist someone's arm, to use force or coercion on someone.
21.
with open arms, cordially; with warm hospitality: a country that receives immigrants with open arms.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE earm; c. Goth arms, ON armr, OFris erm, D, OS, OHG arm (G Arm) arm; L armus, Serbo-Croatian rȁme,rȁmo shoulder; akin to Skt īrmá, Avestan arəma-, OPruss irmo arm; not akin to L armaarm2]
arms, Heraldry. the escutcheon, with its divisions, charges, and tinctures, and the other components forming an achievement that symbolizes and is reserved for a person, family, or corporate body; armorial bearings; coat of arms.
–verb (used without object)
3.
to enter into a state of hostility or of readiness for war.
–verb (used with object)
4.
to equip with weapons: to arm the troops.
5.
to activate (a fuze) so that it will explode the charge at the time desired.
6.
to cover protectively.
7.
to provide with whatever will add strength, force, or security; support; fortify: He was armed with statistics and facts.
8.
to equip or prepare for any specific purpose or effective use: to arm a security system; to arm oneself with persuasive arguments.
9.
to prepare for action; make fit; ready.
—Idioms
10.
bear arms,
a.
to carry weapons.
b.
to serve as a member of the military or of contending forces: His religious convictions kept him from bearing arms, but he served as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross.
11.
take up arms, to prepare for war; go to war: to take up arms against the enemy.
12.
under arms, ready for battle; trained and equipped: The number of men under arms is no longer the decisive factor in warfare.
13.
up in arms, ready to take action; indignant; outraged: There is no need to get up in arms over such a trifle.
[Origin: 1200–50 for v.; 1300–50 for n.; (v.) ME armen < AF, OF armer < L armāre to arm, v. deriv. of arma (pl.) tools, weapons (not akin to arm1); (n.) ME armes (pl.) ≪ L arma, as above]
ad·just·a·ble-rate mortgage (ə-jŭst'ə-bəl-rāt')
n.
Abbr. ARM
A mortgage whose interest rate is raised or lowered at periodic intervals according to the prevailing interest rates in the market. Also called variable-rate mortgage.
A weapon, especially a firearm: troops bearing arms; ICBMs, bombs, and other nuclear arms.
A branch of a military force: infantry, armor, and other combat arms.
arms
Warfare: a call to arms against the invaders.
Military service: several million volunteers under arms; the profession of arms.
Heraldry Bearings.
Insignia, as of a state, an official, a family, or an organization.
arms
Heraldry Bearings.
Insignia, as of a state, an official, a family, or an organization.
v.
armed, arm·ing, arms
v.
intr.
To supply or equip oneself with weaponry.
To prepare oneself for warfare or conflict.
v.
tr.
To equip with weapons: armed themselves with loaded pistols; arm a missile with a warhead; arm a nation for war.
To equip with what is needed for effective action: tax advisers who were armed with the latest forms.
To provide with something that strengthens or protects: a space reentry vehicle that was armed with a ceramic shield.
To prepare (a weapon) for use or operation, as by releasing a safety device.
[From Middle English armes, weapons, from Old French, pl. of arme, weapon, from Latin arma, weapons; see ar- in Indo-European roots. V., Middle English armen, from Old French armer, from Latin armāre, from arma.]
"body part," O.E. earm "arm," from P.Gmc. *armaz (cf. O.S., M.Du., Ger. arm, O.N. armr, O.Fris. erm), from PIE base *ar- "fit, join" (cf. Skt. irmah "arm," Armenian armukn "elbow," O.Prus. irmo "arm," Gk. arthron "a joint," L. armus "shoulder"). Arm of the sea was in O.E. Armchair is from 1633; adj. sense in ref. to "criticism of matters in which the critic takes no active part" is from 1886. Arm-twister "powerful persuader" is from 1938. Arm-wrestling is from 1971. Armpit first attested c.1400; fig. sense of "ugly, disgusting place" is U.S. student slang, c.1965.
"weapon," 1300, from O.Fr. armes (pl.), from L. arma "weapons," lit. "tools, implements (of war)," from PIE base *ar- "fit, join." The notion seems to be "that which is fitted together." Meaning "heraldic insignia" (in coat of arms, etc.) is 1330; originally they were borne on shields of fully armed knights or barons. The verb meaning "to furnish with weapons" is from 1205. Arms race first attested 1936.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
2.
any projection that is thought to resemble a human arm; "the arm of the record player"; "an arm of the sea"; "a branch of the sewer"
3.
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting; "he was licensed to carry a weapon" [syn: weapon]
4.
the part of an armchair or sofa that supports the elbow and forearm of a seated person
5.
a division of some larger or more complex organization; "a branch of Congress"; "botany is a branch of biology"; "the Germanic branch of Indo-European languages" [syn: branch]
6.
the part of a garment that is attached at the armhole and that provides a cloth covering for the arm [syn: sleeve]
verb
1.
prepare oneself for a military confrontation; "The U.S. is girding for a conflict in the Middle East"; "troops are building up on the Iraqi border" [ant: demilitarise]
2.
supply with arms; "The U.S. armed the freedom fighters in Afghanistan"
Ar`is*toc"ra*cy\, n.; pl. Aristocracies. [Gr. ?; ? best + ? to be strong, to rule, ? strength; ? is perh. from the same root as E. arm, and orig. meant fitting: cf. F. aristocratie. See Arm, and Create, which is related to Gr. ?.]1. Government by the best citizens. 2. A ruling body composed of the best citizens. [Obs.] In the Senate Right not our quest in this, I will protest them To all the world, no aristocracy. --B. Jonson. 3. A form a government, in which the supreme power is vested in the principal persons of a state, or in a privileged order; an oligarchy. The aristocracy of Venice hath admitted so many abuses, trough the degeneracy of the nobles, that the period of its duration seems approach. --Swift. 4. The nobles or chief persons in a state; a privileged class or patrician order; (in a popular use) those who are regarded as superior to the rest of the community, as in rank, fortune, or intellect.
A*rith"me*tic\, n. [OE. arsmetike, OF. arismetique, L. arithmetica, fr. Gr. ? (sc. ?), fr. ? arithmetical, fr. ? to number, fr. ? number, prob. fr. same root as E. arm, the idea of counting coming from that of fitting, attaching. See Arm. The modern Eng. and French forms are accommodated to the Greek.]1. The science of numbers; the art of computation by figures. 2. A book containing the principles of this science. Arithmetic of sines, trigonometry. Political arithmetic, the application of the science of numbers to problems in civil government, political economy, and social science. Universal arithmetic, the name given by Sir Isaac Newton to algebra.
Arm\, n. [AS. arm, earm; akin to OHG. aram, G., D., Dan., & Sw. arm, Icel. armr, Goth. arms, L. armus arm, shoulder, and prob. to Gr. ? joining, joint, shoulder, fr. the root ? to join, to fit together; cf. Slav. rame. ?. See Art, Article.]1. The limb of the human body which extends from the shoulder to the hand; also, the corresponding limb of a monkey. 2. Anything resembling an arm; as, (a) The fore limb of an animal, as of a bear. (b) A limb, or locomotive or prehensile organ, of an invertebrate animal. (c) A branch of a tree. (d) A slender part of an instrument or machine, projecting from a trunk, axis, or fulcrum; as, the arm of a steelyard. (e) (Naut) The end of a yard; also, the part of an anchor which ends in the fluke. (f) An inlet of water from the sea. (g) A support for the elbow, at the side of a chair, the end of a sofa, etc. 3. Fig.: Power; might; strength; support; as, the secular arm; the arm of the law. To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? --Isa. lii. 1. Arm's end, the end of the arm; a good distance off. --Dryden. Arm's length, the length of the arm. Arm's reach, reach of the arm; the distance the arm can reach. To go (or walk) arm in arm, to go with the arm or hand of one linked in the arm of another. "When arm in armwe went along." --Tennyson. To keep at arm's length, to keep at a distance (literally or figuratively); not to allow to come into close contact or familiar intercourse. To work at arm's length, to work disadvantageously.
Arm\, n. [See Arms.] (Mil.) (a) A branch of the military service; as, the cavalry arm was made efficient. (b) A weapon of offense or defense; an instrument of warfare; -- commonly in the pl.
![[P]](http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium_mh.gif){kind=small}
Audio Help [ahrm] Pronunciation Key 
