arma

Forms

arma f (plural armi or (archaic or poetic) arme)^[1] Old Italian also had arme, in both singular and plural; the plural arme is now archaic or poetic.^[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin arma (“weapon”), a feminine singular that grew out of the classical neuter plural ⟨arma, -ōrum⟩ “arms, equipment”.^[4][5][6][7] The singular is recorded in Latin only from the 6th century, in the “Itinerarium Antonini Placentini”, while the plural is in use from Plautus on.^[8][3] The same feminine is behind French arme, Occitan arma, Catalan arma, Spanish arma, Portuguese arma, Romanian armă and Sardinian arma, and DÉRom reconstructs a Proto-Romance ⟨*/ˈarm-a/⟩ for it.^[5][9][8]

De Vaan derives the Latin word from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit together, join”), through an adjective “fitting”: the meaning went from “what is fitted together” to “tools” and then “weapons”.^[10][1] Related words are armus (“shoulder”), ars (“skill, art”) and artus (“joint, limb”), and further afield Ancient Greek ἀραρίσκω (ararískō, “to fit together”) and Sanskrit ऋत (ṛtá, “order, truth”).^[10][5][1] DEI adds that the Latin plural first meant defensive armour fitted to the body, as opposed to weapons that were thrown.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur, of the last quarter of the 12th century, in the sense “weapon, any instrument for attack or defence”.^[12] The LEI has Tuscan arme from 1274 and arma from Boccaccio's Decameron (1353).^[3] DELI's first record of the sense “weapon” is in Brunetto Latini, before 1294.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Latin already used the word for “army, troops” and “tools”, on the model of Greek hópla;^[3] Italian kept both senses.^[3] Dante uses it for armed troops before 1321, and Petrarch for a work tool before 1374.^[4] The sense “coat of arms”, which the word has in all the Romance languages and in Medieval Latin, is in Dino Compagni in 1310–1312.^[4][3] The sense “branch of the army” (l'Arma dei carabinieri) dates from the Napoleonic period: it is first recorded in 1802, in the proclamation setting up the National Gendarmerie.^[4]

The battle cry all'arme! “to arms!” became the noun allarme, which spread to the other European languages as French alarme, Spanish alarma and German Alarm and Lärm.^{[13][9][5][3]} Arma bianca, a weapon that cuts or stabs, is recorded from 1540;^[5][4] DELI explains the name by the silvery colour of the blades.^[5][4]

Timeline

• Late 12th century – The Venetian Proverbia que dicuntur use the word.^[12]
• 1274 – Tuscan arme “weapon”.^[3]
• 1310–1312 – Dino Compagni uses it for a coat of arms.^[4]
• Before 1321 – Dante uses it for armed troops.^[4]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses the form arma.^[3]
• Before 1374 – Petrarch uses it for a working tool.^[4]
• 1540 – arma bianca is recorded.^[5]
• 1802 – It is used for a branch of the army, the Gendarmerie.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. weapon, any object used to attack or defend: Il cacciatore puliva la sua arma.^[6][2][7]
2. (figurative) any means used to defend oneself, harm others or reach a goal: La pazienza è la sua arma migliore.^[6][12]
3. (military) a branch of the armed forces: l'arma di artiglieria, l'Arma, the Carabinieri.^[6][7]
4. (plural) the army, military service; fighting, warfare: chiamare alle armi.^[6][14]
5. (heraldry) coat of arms.^[7][12]

Word family

• armaiolo
• armeggiare
• armeria
• armiere
• armacollo
• armamentario
• armamento
• armare
• armata
• armato
• armatore
• armatura
• armeggio
• armeggione
• armigero

Related words

• armadio
• armistizio
• allarme
• arte
• arto
• Latin arma

Usage notes

Common phrases are arma da fuoco “firearm”, arma bianca “cold steel, a blade”, arma a doppio taglio “a double-edged sword”, alle prime armi “inexperienced, a beginner” and passare per le armi “to execute”.^[6][14][15]

Among minor words of the same spelling, Old Italian arma “soul” is a form of anima with the second consonant changed, like Occitan arma and Old French arme; it is in Cielo d'Alcamo and in Boccaccio's Sicilian dialogue.^[6][16][17] Ligurian and Piedmontese arma “hill, rock shelter” is a pre-Latin word.^[6][16][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 3, 1200
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
7. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 291
12. ^ a b c d e Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
13. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
14. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
15. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
16. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 1, 664
17. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET