armament

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin armāmentum (“sailing gear, tackle, equipment; in post-classical Latin armour, weapons”),^[2][3][4] in classical Latin usually the plural armāmenta,^[2][4] from armō (“to furnish with weapons”) and -mentum,^[2][5] the verb being from arma (“weapons, tools”).^[5][6] French armement influenced its development: the OED says the French senses shaped the English ones,^[2] and Merriam-Webster takes the English word as a modification of the French.^[7] The OED compares Italian armamento and Spanish armamiento.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OED's first record is 1668, in Bishop Wilkins's Essay Towards a Real Character, for weapons and military equipment collectively.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates a sense "military force" to 1632,^[7] Etymonline to the 1650s as a naval force,^[5] and the Shorter Oxford to the late 17th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The OED has a body of armed men, especially a naval force, from a 1698 translation from French, where the French sense is hard to pin down,^[2] and Johnson (1755) knew only this meaning: "a force equipped for war; generally used of a naval force".^[8] The Shorter Oxford now labels it archaic.^[4] The action of equipping for war is recorded from 1699,^[2] although Etymonline dates it to 1813.^[5] A single weapon or gun, usually in the plural, appears in 1741, in Samuel Johnson's life of Drake,^[2] and Weekley remarks on the phrase bloated armaments, used by Disraeli.^[9] From 1793 the word extended to any means of attack or defence and any set of resources.^[2]

Timeline

• 1668 – weapons and military equipment collectively.^[2]
• 1698 – a military force, especially a naval one.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates this to 1632,^[7] Etymonline to the 1650s.^[5]
• 1699 – the process of equipping for war.^[2] Etymonline dates it to 1813.^[5]
• 1741 – a weapon or piece of military equipment, chiefly in the plural.^[2]
• 1793 – any means of attack or defence; a set of resources.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The weapons and equipment of a warship, aircraft, tank or other military unit: The patrol boat's armament includes two light guns.^[10][2][4]
2. A weapon or piece of military equipment, usually in the plural.^[2][10]
3. A nation's total military strength, including forces, weapons and supporting industry.^[7]
4. The process of equipping for war.^[10][2][4]
5. Any means of attack or defence; the resources available for a task.^[2]
6. (archaic) A force equipped for war, especially a naval one.^[4][7][2]

Related words

• arm
• rearmament

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins