akimbo

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈkɪm.bəʊ/ (UK); /əˈkɪm.boʊ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English in kenebowe,^[2][3][4][5] of uncertain origin.^[4][5] One suggestion is the Middle English phrase in keen bow “at a sharp angle”;^[4][5] another, followed by Random House, is a Scandinavian source like Old Norse *i keng boginn (“bent into a crook”).^[6][4][5] Etymonline compares Icelandic kengboginn “bow-bent” but notes that it does not seem to have been used in this sense.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the arms: with the hands on the hips and the elbows turned outward (c1400).^[7][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The phrase was respelled several times (a ken-bow in 1611) before settling as akimbo.^[5][1] Etymonline notes that many languages describe the posture with the image of a pot with two handles, as French faire le pot à deux anses.^[4] The word was extended from the arms to anything set in a bent position, especially the legs.^[2][3][1] A modern sense, of weapons held one in each hand, is recorded by Wiktionary.^[1]

Timeline

• c1400 – in kenebowe, with hands on hips and elbows out.^[7][4][5]
• 1611 – the form a ken-bow.^[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective, adverb

1. With the hands on the hips and the elbows bent outward.
2. Set in a bent or bowed position, as of the legs.
3. Of weapons, especially firearms: held one in each hand.

Usage notes

The adjective is almost always placed after the noun it modifies, as in arms akimbo.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press