akimbo English · revision 2400

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈkɪm.bəʊ/ ''(UK)''; /əˈkɪm.boʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|in kenebowe]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) One suggestion is the Middle English phrase ''in keen bow'' “at a sharp angle”;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) another, followed by Random House, is a Scandinavian source like [[non|*i keng boginn|t=bent into a crook]].^(RHWU)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) Etymonline compares Icelandic ''kengboginn'' “bow-bent” but notes that it does not seem to have been used in this sense.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of the arms: with the hands on the hips and the elbows turned outward (c1400).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The phrase was respelled several times (''a ken-bow'' in 1611) before settling as ''akimbo''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Wiktionary) 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''.^(Etymonline) The word was extended from the arms to anything set in a bent position, especially the legs.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary) A modern sense, of weapons held one in each hand, is recorded by Wiktionary.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c1400 – ''in kenebowe'', with hands on hips and elbows out.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1611 – the form ''a ken-bow''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective, adverb===

+ # With the hands on the hips and the elbows bent outward.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Set in a bent or bowed position, as of the legs.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of weapons, especially firearms: held one in each hand.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The adjective is almost always placed after the noun it modifies, as in ''arms akimbo''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}