Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

armament

 - 5 dictionary results

ar⋅ma⋅ment

  [ahr-muh-muhnt]
Use armament in a Sentence
–noun
1. the arms and equipment with which a military unit or military apparatus is supplied.
2. a land, sea, or air force equipped for war.
3. armor (def. 5).
4. Usually, armaments. military strength collectively: the armaments race; a country without armaments.
5. the process of equipping or arming for war.
Origin:
1690–1700; < L armāmenta fittings, equiv. to armā(re) to fit out (see arm 2 ) + -menta (pl.) -ment

ar⋅mor

  [ahr-mer]
–noun
1. any covering worn as a defense against weapons.
2. a suit of armor.
3. a metallic sheathing or protective covering, esp. metal plates, used on warships, armored vehicles, airplanes, and fortifications.
4. mechanized units of military forces, as armored divisions.
5. Also called armament. any protective covering, as on certain animals, insects, or plants.
6. any quality, characteristic, situation, or thing that serves as protection: A chilling courtesy was his only armor.
7. the outer, protective wrapping of metal, usually fine, braided steel wires, on a cable.
–verb (used with object)
8. to cover or equip with armor or armor plate.
Also, especially British, armour.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME armo(u)r, armure < AF armour(e), armure OF armëure < L armātūra armature; assimilated, in ME and AF, to nouns ending in -our -or 2

Related forms:
ar⋅mor⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To armament
ar·ma·ment   (är'mə-mənt)   
n.  

  1. The weapons and supplies of war with which a military unit is equipped.

  2. All the military forces and war equipment of a country. Often used in the plural.

  3. A military force equipped for war.

  4. The process of arming for war.


[Latin armāmenta, tools, from arma, arms; see arm2.]
ar'ma·men'tar·y (-měn'tə-rē, -měn'trē) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

armament 
1609, "munitions of war" (especially the great guns on board a man-of-war), also "naval force equipped for war" (1699), from L. armamentum, from armare "to arm, furnish with weapons" from arma (see arm (2)).

armor 
1297, "mail, defensive covering worn in combat," from O.Fr. armeure, from L. armatura "arms, equipment," from arma "arms, gear." The word might have died with jousting if not for late 19c. transference to metal-shielded machinery beginning with U.S. Civil War ironclads (first attested in this sense in an 1855 report from the U.S. Congressional Committee on Naval Affairs).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see armament on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way