armholen.
/ˈɑːmhəʊl/, U.S. /ˈɑrmˌhoʊl/ 1. † b. A hollow corresponding to the human armpit in a horse, dog, etc. Obsolete. rare.
a. The armpit. Now English regional (chiefly northern and midlands) and rare.In quot. 1865 in extended use; cf. armpit n. 3.
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the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > arm > [noun] > armpit
armholea1325
armpita1333
oxterc1420
okselle1489
asselea1500
wings1586
axilla1616
enmontery1655
underarm1933
pit1955
a1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesworth (Cambr.) (1929) 99 Desouz le bras avez ascel [glossed] armole.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 158 (MED) Þat oþere partie of þe veyne passiþ to þe arm-hoolis [L. ad subassellas].
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §21. 13 Gemyni [hath] thyn armholes & thin armes [in gouernance].
?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 748/21 Hoc bachium, a harmehole.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. xxxviii. 12 Put these ragges and cloutes vnder thine arme holes.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. ii. iv. 341 [They] will wade vp to the armeholes.
1697 S. Patrick Comm. Exod. (xxix. 5) 572 The Girdle..about him under the Arm-holes.
1758 Godfridus' New Bk. Knowl. ii. 146 Moles near the Arm-Holes and the Region of the Breast, signify Beauty.
1865 Poetry of Provincialisms in Cornhill Mag. July 38 Mr. Ruskin has been rightly praised for applying such a bold yet true metaphor as ‘arm-holes’ to those pits which are scooped under the branches at the point where they leave the tree.
1898 B. Kirkby Lakeland Words 4 Ah's as sair as can be i't'arm-whol.
1966 Fantasy & Sci. Fiction Dec. 106/2 ‘No need, no need,’ the Elver murmured, scratching his armhole.
2005 Birmingham Post (England) (Nexis) Sept. 7 9 Armhole is a variant on armpit in the west and east Midlands.
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the world > animals > animal body > general parts > body and limbs > [noun] > limb > fore limb or leg > cavity corresponding to armpit
armpita1398
armhole1566
1566 T. Blundeville Order curing Horses Dis. cx. f. 81, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe He will be very hollow vpon the brisket towardes the armeholes.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 76 Where it toucheth the arme-holes, it becommeth in dogs and Apes very fleshy.
2. A hole through which the arm is put into the sleeve of a garment or out of which it is put in a sleeveless garment.Now the usual sense.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > other
netOE
sheepskinc1175
tail1297
panec1300
slipc1440
cukera1500
peak1509
waist1590
bumbarrel1609
winglet1611
armhole1731
fullness1792
stride1807
bottom1820
patte1835
buckling1861
ventilator1870
tie-back1880
shield1884
organ pleat1886
outer1904
flarea1910
uplift1929
1731 Proc. Old Bailey 15 Jan. 13/1 He..violently pull'd off her Riding-Hood, and tore it at the Arm Holes in pulling it off.
1778 M. Curzon Let. 9 Jan. in Dear Miss Heber (1936) 15 She was dress'd in a white figured sattin gown..with..a long figur'd white sattin cloack trimm'd with fur, & arm-holes.
1835 F. A. Kemble Rec. Later Life I. 38 Tight waistbands, tight armholes and tight bodices.
1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate I. v. 125 With his thumbs fixed into the armholes of his waistcoat.
1907 D. P. Abbot Behind Scenes with Mediums 261 All that is necessary in turning the vest is to reach the hand through the left arm-hole [etc.].
1959 P. H. Johnson Last Resort (1970) 113 He stuck his thumbs into the armholes of his yellow waistcoat and gave me a smirk.
2010 C. J. Fresia Threads Sewing Guide vii. 150/3 Staystitch each armhole from shoulder to side seam.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.a1325