arsenal English · revision 2395

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɑːsənəl/, /ˈɑːsnəl/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɑɹsənəl/, /ˈɑɹsnəl/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|arsenale]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) earlier ''arzanale'',^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from Venetian ''arzanà'' “dockyard”,^(RHWU) [[der|ar|دَار الصِّنَاعَة|tr=dār aṣ-ṣināʿa|t=house of manufacture, workshop]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(RHWU) from ''dār'' “house” and ''ṣināʿa'' “art, craft”, from ''ṣanaʿa'' “to make”.^(Etymonline)^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) Random House suggests that the initial ''d-'' was dropped because it was taken for the Italian preposition ''di'' “of”.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A dock with naval stores, where ships were built and repaired (1506).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Venetians gave the name to the great dockyard of their city, and English took it up in that sense,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) which is why the earliest English forms are Italianate.^(Barnhart 1995) The sense “public store or factory of weapons and ammunition” dates from the 1570s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and figurative use, “a store of anything”, from 1598.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1506 – a dockyard with naval stores.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1555 – first date in Merriam-Webster.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1579 – a public establishment for making or storing weapons.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1598 – figurative use.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A place where weapons and military equipment are manufactured or stored.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A stock of weapons, especially all those a nation possesses.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A store or supply of anything; a repertoire.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}