armedadj.1
/ɑːmd/, U.S. /ɑrmd/ 1. Equipped with or carrying a weapon or weapons (now typically firearms); involving the use of weaponry. Formerly also: †wearing or fitted with armour (obsolete).
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > arming or equipping with weapons > [adjective]
weaponedc1000
armedc1300
well-armedc1300
well-weaponeda1325
armed to the teethc1380
well-steeledc1390
warlikec1420
anarm1426
boden1429
well-harnesseda1450
geared1488
well-geared1488
well-boden1496
warly1508
enarmedc1540
burled1616
undisarmed1649
of (good) force1697
tooled up1959
weaponized1973
society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > [adjective] > clad in or protected by armour
armedc1300
wrienc1330
steel-clada1400
armed at (also of) all piecesc1400
harnessedc1460
enarmedc1540
armoured1564
steeled1596
iron-clothed1728
armour-clad1768
hoplomachic1832
well-armoured1852
brazen-mailed1870
pamphract1890
c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) l. 1258 After mine knyȝtes..Armed [c1300 Cambr. Iarmed] honder cloþe.
1384 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 27 (MED) John More warned al hys sergeantz & hys men to be armed.
c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) l. 3458 Many fatt palfrey aumblaunt, And many armed olyfaunt.
a1450 Seven Sages (Cambr. Dd.1.17) (1845) l. 1417 Armyd men by nyght thare ȝede.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 7810 Hys handys wern yarmyd wel.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xi. 96 Armyt clenly at fut and hand.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. lxxxii. f. xxxii/2 Tydinges came to hym of the arryuynge of .iii. longe Shyppes full of Armed men at the Ile of Tenet.
1549 W. Thomas Hist. Italie f. 82 Thei..send forth yerely certaine armed galeis to kepe the seas against Corsales, and Pyrates.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. ii. sig. B4v A faithlesse Sarazin all armde to point.
1631 P. Fletcher Sicelides ii. iv. sig. D His teeth..Like to an armed battell ready stand.
1695 London Gaz. mmmcii/3 Half Galleys and other Armed Boats.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. 323 The caprice of an armed multitude.
1790 R. Beatson Naval & Mil. Mem. I. 329 An armed ship of ten guns.
1859 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 236 Armed horses are ordered by royal mandate at various periods of the [fourteenth] century.
1864 Ld. Bramwell in Morning Star 12 Jan. By ‘armed,’ I suppose it would be meant ordinarily that she had cannon, but if she had a fighting crew, muskets, pistols..and boarding appliances, she might be well said to be equipped for warlike purposes, though not armed.
1889 Harper's Mag. Aug. 437/1 The policy of injustice and violence..has reopened the era of armed conquest.
1937 Life 26 July 19/1 The growth and imminent armed clash of fascist and communist forces in the U.S.
1961 W. Granville & R. A. Kelly Inshore Heroes x. 108 Trawlers, drifters, armed yachts and other auxiliary craft employed on anti-submarine or mine-clearance work.
2010 P. O'Grady Devil rides Out xi. 207 We were ushered in by my two armed bodyguards.
2.
a. Of a person, or a person's mind, character, etc.: prepared or equipped for a task or trial; strengthened or protected against a threat or danger; fitted for a purpose.
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the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [adjective] > prepared or ready
i-radc888
yarec888
i-redec1000
i-redya1175
boundc1175
graith?c1225
aready1250
alreadyc1275
readyc1275
armedc1300
prestc1300
bentc1330
ripec1330
purveyed1435
mature?1440
apt1474
habile1485
in (a) case to (also for)1523
provided1533
in procinct1540
weeping-ripe1548
furnished1553
fit1569
preta1600
expedite1604
predy1613
procinct1618
foreprepared1642
presto1644
apparated1663
(ready) in one's gears1664
fallow1850
standby1893
organized1926
(to be) all set1949
the mind > possession > supply > [adjective] > provided or supplied with something > equipped or fitted out
ygraitheda1225
armedc1300
attired1330
wrienc1330
seena1400
adubbed?1473
appointed1535
instructed1538
accoutredc1540
furnished1553
geared1588
appurtenanced1602
instruct?1614
garnished1705
equipped1838
outfitted1975
c1300 Holy Cross (Laud) l. 593 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 18 (MED) He is in a veteles þat ampti is, ake with-oute i-armed faste.
?a1425 (a1415) Lanterne of Liȝt (Harl.) (1917) 118 (MED) Þei holden false gooten goodis..and feele siþes reren strong hand armyd in wickidnes.
c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 112 (MED) If thou ne bee oother weys armed and arayed, thou shalt neuere keepe thee so wel that thou ne shalt be vileynesliche treted.
1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in Panoplie Epist. 60 Your armed mynd against variable fortune.
c1585 Bp. J. Pilkington Wks. (1841) 444 A man forewarned is half armed.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. i. 22 If you are armd to do, as sworne to do. View more context for this quotation
a1635 T. Randolph Muses Looking-glasse ii. iii. 30 in Poems (1638) Your arm'd soule Is able to contemne these petty baits.
1651 J. Quarles Gods Love 99 Think not to devour My armed heart with thy persuing power.
1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace i. i. 94 He's arm'd without that's innocent within.
1853 Lett. Madiai 24 Quite the Christian heroine, ready armed for her coming trials.
1869 A. M. Douglas Sydnie Adriance xvi. 229 I felt armed, as it were, to fight any battle now.
1874 G. B. Johnson Poems & Sonnets 28 An armed brain of wit,—Weak in the spring of will, Fate unpropitious, is accounted weak In all things.
1910 H. James Finer Grain 281 He had come armed for showing her nothing.
2004 Draft Charities Bill (Joint Comm. Lords & Commons) II. 268/1 You have answered most of the questions that I came armed to ask.
b. Of a thing: equipped or fitted with something, as a case, cover, tip, etc., that gives effectiveness or strength or fits for a purpose.
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1565 A. Golding tr. Ovid Fyrst Fower Bks. Metamorphosis ii. f. 8 Hee tooke an armed pyke [L. vulnifico..telo], In full intent her throughe the harte with deadly wounde too stryke.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. i. 8 Nor bruise her flourets with the armed hoofes Of hostile paces. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iv. vii. 78 Wounded steeds..Yerke out their armed heeles at their dead masters. View more context for this quotation
a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Beggers Bush iii. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ll3v/2 With my arm'd staffe, turne the Boare, Spight of his fomy tushes, and thus strike him, 'Till he fall downe my feast.
1681 C. Cotton Wonders of Peake 47 A Path level, and broad enough For human Feet; or for the armed Hoof.
1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) ii. 17 Tho' stiff with Hoops, and arm'd with Ribs of Whale.
1740 R. Brookes Art of Angling i. ii. 9 It should have as many arm'd Hooks and Baits..as the length of the Line will allow.
1770 J. Cook Voy. & Trav. Russ. Empire I. lii. 278 With one blow of his armed club on the head, dispatches him at once.
1826 Trans. Soc. Arts 44 163 The armed end will consequently rise above the margin of the hollow blade.
1853 T. De Quincey Spanish Mil. Nun §6. 12 With her armed finger (ay, by the way, I forgot the thimble).
1858 J. Mansfield in Mercantile Marine Mag. 5 20 The armed lead would have shown him that..he was deviating from his..course.
1905 Ophthalmoscope 3 241 The armed probe is employed to touch the tiny abscesses of ulcerative blepharitis.
1962 T. Baird Triumphal Entry viii. 205 ‘This is too much,’ I cried, striking the armed tip of my stick on the floor smartly.
2012 F. Tempera et al. in P. T. Harris & E. K. Baker Seafloor Geomorphol. viii. 172 Hydrographical charts..based on an armed sounding lead survey conducted as long ago as the 1940s.
3.
a. Of a plant or its parts: having thorns, prickles, etc.
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the world > plants > part of plant > thorn or prickle > [adjective]
thornenc897
thornyc1000
armeda1398
pikeda1398
thornish1426
pricky1548
prickly1577
prickled1578
spiky1578
sharp-set1601
spiny1604
senticous1657
aculeous1658
spinous1668
spineal1688
spinose1693
aculeate1753
spinescent1793
aculeolate1818
aciculated1819
spinulose1819
spinulescent1836
spinulous1846
thorned1895
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. cxlix. 1047 The thorne..is as it were armed [L. armata] with prikkes aȝeins wronges of hem þat toucheþ hem [emended in ed. to hem toucheþ].
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis ii. i. ii. 186 Part of a Prickle-Apple... The Fruit is remarkable for the several Tussucks or Bunches of Thorns wherewith it is armed all round about.
1739 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. II. at Corallodendron Three-leav'd American Coral-tree, whose Stalk and the Nerves of the Leaves are armed with Spines.
1828 J. E. Smith Eng. Flora ii. 88 I am not convinced that the kind of hairiness observed on the fruit of Athamanta, is a good generic, or even a specific mark. however important the prickles of fruits, properly termed armed, in this natural order, may be.
1875 F. T. Buckland Log-bk. Fisherman 45 A seed literally armed with formidable claws.
1942 T. H. Kearney & R. H. Peebles Flowering Plants & Ferns Arizona (Misc. Publ. U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 423) 640 Ovary and fruit armed with bristles, callous teeth, or papillae.
2014 R. Spellenberg et al. Trees W. N. Amer. 238/1 Larger branches are often armed with stout, sharp, strong, usually branched thorns.
b. Of an animal, or a part of its body: having or bearing sharp or strong teeth, a horn, spines, claws, or other offensive organs or structures; (occasionally) having a defensive outer layer or armour (cf. armoured adj. 2).Earlier in heraldic context: see sense 4.
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the world > animals > animal body > general parts > [adjective] > armed
armed1568
spurred1611
1568 T. Hacket tr. A. Thevet New Found Worlde 84 There are founde great number of Tattous [printed Tattons], that are beasts armed [Fr. bestes armées].
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. ii. 102 The lions armed iawes. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. iv. 100 The arm'd Rhinoceros, or th' Hircan Tiger. View more context for this quotation
?1790 G. Wallace Fragm. Prospect Hill in Fife 7 Their sharp and corneous bills, their armed feet, And pointed spurs, and beating pinions, all To action brought.
1828 G. Young Geol. Surv. Yorks. Coast (ed. 2) ii. 259 Of the ammonites which may be called armed, as being furnished with sharp knobs, or spines, on the sides, we have many species in our rocks.
1861 M. Willson Fifth Reader v. 259 Among the armed fishes of this order, the European file-fish is the best known.
1957 Jrnl. Parasitol. 43 660 P[seudoporrorchis] indicus..is larger than P. centropusi, but with a smaller armed proboscis.
1978 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 4 Feb. 306/1 The long, heavily-armed tentacles of physalia might be expected to leave streak marks.
2010 R. Catchlove Somewhere down Crazy River x. 66 Some, with heavily armed jaws cracked wide open, were snoozing, but most were lounging around like lazy lizards.
4. Heraldry. Of a charge: having teeth, talons, etc., of a specified tincture; (also) represented with teeth, talons, horns, etc.
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society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > heraldic representations of creatures > [adjective] > with or without teeth, claws, etc.
armed1445
disarmed1688
1445–6 in W. H. St. J. Hope Gram. Eng. Heraldry (1913) 100 Sylver iij oxen sabull armyd with gooldys.
c1460 Bk. Arms in Ancestor (1903) Apr. 188 (MED) ij leberdys..crownyd with gowlys, armyd with asewre.
1467 in M. Albertson London Merchants & their Landed Property (1932) 71 (MED) iij Rames hedis rased of the same, armed golde.
1572 J. Bossewell Wks. Armorie ii. f. 44 A Lyon Passante, Gules, armed, and langued d'Azure.
1661 S. Morgan Sphere of Gentry i. v. 59 Membred doth signify the legs, and Armed doth imploy the Bill and Claws.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. ii. 91 Armed, as Heraulds cant, and langued, Or, as the Vulgar say, sharp-fanged.
1722 A. Pennecuik Hist. Blue Blanket 49 Or, a Lion ramp. Gu. arm'd and lingued Az within a double Tressure.
1763 Brit. Mag. 4 238 An eagle..sable, armed and membered, or.
1803 P. de la Motte Principal, Hist., & Allusive Arms 351 Dexter, a unicorn Argent; armed, maned, and unguled Or.
1866 J. E. Cussans Gram. Heraldry 29 A lion is armed of its teeth and claws, and langued of its tongue.
1906 Miscellanea Geneaologica & Heraldica 4th Ser. 1 18 Argent, a lion rampant, armed gules, gorged with a collar fleury.
2005 M. Lenox-Conyngham Springhill p. xviii Crests—1. A unicorn's head argent, armed sable. 2. A demi-lion rampant purpure, armed and langued argent.
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the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > [adjective] > ornamented in other specific ways
membereda1425
chained1552
armed1553
shielded1805
sun-rayed1856
repeating1863
ajouré1903
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > [adjective] > adorned with
armed1553
emblazoned1667
blazoned1830
armoried1855
armorial1871
1553 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughmans Crede sig. A.ivv Tombes..Of armede alabaustre.
1881 Bibliotheca Lindesiana: Hand List Boudoir Bks. 55 Lutheri Catechismus öfwersatt på American-Virginiske språket... Leather armed. 8 ff. + 160 pp.
1910 Earl of Crawford Bibliotheca Lindesiana: Catal. Printed Bks. III. 5484 Old calf, armed. Belonged to Lord Balcarres; with his autograph on title, and arms on cover.
6. Of a magnet: provided with an armature or keeper. Now historical.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > magnetism > magnetic devices or materials > [adjective] > having armature
armed1613
well-armed1741
1613 M. Ridley Short Treat. Magneticall Bodies xxiii. 84 Such Magnets as be armed with iron, attract more strongly then the bare stones doe.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. iv. 176 We took a very good arm'd Loadstone.
1731 Philos. Trans. 1729–30 (Royal Soc.) 36 309 That an armed Loadstone can lift more.
1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics x. 93 An armed natural loadstone.
2011 N. Wilding in J. Raymond Conversat. Angels 73 Galileo himself was not above trading in wonders and marvels, such as the armed magnet he attempted to sell to Rudolph II.
7. Of a bomb or other explosive device: activated, primed, prepared to explode. Hence, of an alarm, etc.: ready to go off.
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1903 Ann. Rep. War Dept. XIV. App. xi. 153 Determine height of drop required to explode an armed fuse.
1923 Army Ordnance Nov. 210/2 A locality where it would be dangerous to people..to drop an ‘armed’ bomb.
1972 Operator Man. (Hawk Air-Defense Guided Missile Syst.) i. iii Remove the missile from the container... If safe, continue decanning. If armed, evacuate the area.
1996 A. L. Brown Vehicle Security Syst. 26 The alarm is now ready to detect any intrusion... The red LED should now be flashing indicating an armed alarm system.
2002 Guardian 3 Oct. i. 5/2 The full list of hardware..[includes] 30 armed warheads and a massive biological weapons facility.
Phrases
armed to the teeth and variants [compare French armé jusqu'aux dents (1690 or earlier)] : heavily armed; well-equipped with weapons.
ΚΠ
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2707 Þey wern y-armed in-to þe teþ & araid wel for þe fiȝt.
c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) l. 460 All y-armed yn-to þe teþ.]
1749 T. Smollett tr. A. R. Le Sage Gil Blas IV. xii. xii. 221 Two lusty lacqueys..mounted on mules, and armed to the teeth [1735 anon. tr. armed up to the very Teeth; Fr. armés jusqu'aux dents], brought up the rear.
1826 Museum Foreign Lit. & Sci. Jan. 641 The English chap-books term him a pirate and cut-throat, bearded and armed to the teeth.
1854 J. R. Morell Russia & Eng. ii. 18 The besiegers..are far from anticipating such a terrible missile—a man armed to his teeth.
1877 H. James Let. 29 Dec. (1975) II. 153 There is no chance in the armed-to-the-teeth Europe of our time.
1919 H. W. Concannon Women of 'Ninety-eight 317 Though armed to the teeth, the grey-friezed horsemen were on no business of blood to-day.
1982 R. Ludlum Parsifal Mosaic (1983) xxviii. 480 I did speak with our armed-to-the-teeth cook, and I'm sure I flirted.
2007 C. MacFarlane Real Gorbals Story (2009) xix. 156 Hundreds of gang members went there armed to the teeth.
Compounds
armed bullhead n. a small fish of northern European coastal waters, Agonus cataphractus (family Agonidae), whose body is encased in bony plates; also called pogge.
ΚΠ
1776 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. III. 190 (heading) Armed Bull-head.
1868 J. G. Wood Fresh & Salt-water Aquarium ii. 29 In some places it is called the Lyrie, in others the Sea-poacher, in others the Armed Bullhead, in others the Pluck, and in the North it goes by the name of Noble.
1961 E. S. Herald Living Fishes of World 252/2 Around the British Isles one of the most common inshore fishes is the pogge or armed bullhead, Agonus cataphractus.
armed camp n. a body or encampment of armed troops; (more generally) a site, territory, or group of people that is armed and ready for war or violent conflict.In quot. 1597 in extended use with reference to the pieces on a chessboard.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > war > [noun] > territory ready for war
armed camp1597
1597 G. B. tr. M. H. Vida Scacchia Ludus in tr. Damiano da Odemira Ludus Scacchiæ: Chesse-play 13 For on that side the armed campe [L. conserta phalanx], on this, the Queene did stand, All armed like an Amazon, and slew him with her hand.
1660 A. Cooper Στρατολογια ii. 33 What Fields with Grain, Mountains with Flocks, that were Flourish'd of late; now terrible appear With armed Camps.
1808 J. B. Caldwell Oration 6 America..was suddenly compelled to turn her attention from war to peace, from the armed camp to the labors of the cabinet.
1861 M. B. Chesnut Diary from Dixie 15 Aug. (1949) 111 This appalling picture of New York as an armed camp.
1935 Boys' Life May 13/2 The entire earth became an armed camp, preparing for what was certain to be the greatest war in all history.
2014 Guardian (Nexis) 18 Oct. 36 The US's poorest neighbourhoods are armed camps teeming with cops and high-powered weaponry.
armed conflict n. political conflict in which both sides are armed with weapons; an instance of this.
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society > armed hostility > [noun]
campOE
winOE
armoura1387
battlea1400
cocka1400
poynyec1425
combattery1524
hostility1531
combattencie1586
conflict1611
armed conflict1834
1834 T. S. Grimké Inq. Accordancy War with Princ. Christianity 49 [Christ's] declaration [to Pilate] refers specifically to an armed conflict... He says, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’
1913 Homiletic Rev. May 360/2 The horrors and ravages..of armed conflict.
1991 P. Robertson New World Order i. ii. 21 Armed conflict is breaking out in Yugoslavia between Croats, Slovenes, and Serbs.
2006 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 17 June l2 Since 1992, the number of armed conflicts worldwide has dropped by 40 per cent.
armed demonstration n. Military a show of military force or capability with weapons at the ready; = demonstration n. 6.
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society > armed hostility > military operations > [noun] > show of force
show1548
show of force1606
armed demonstration1806
demonstration1806
demonstrationizing1882
1806 Morning Chron. 1 Feb. 2/4 His Imperial and Royal Majesty engages to execute without delay the military arrangements agreed upon at Vienna..as well for the armed demonstration which is to facilitate the negotiation, as for the operations against the enemy which may ensue.
1876 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People iii. §7. 150 An armed demonstration drove them in flight over sea.
1992 P. Paret Understanding War xii. 176 From the extreme of attempting to destroy the enemy to such a minimum of violence as an armed demonstration.
armed escort n. an escort (escort n. 1) carrying weapons; (now esp.) a person or group of people carrying firearms and employed to escort and protect someone important or famous.
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society > armed hostility > defence > [noun] > means of defence > protection by escorting force
convoy1600
armed escort1787
1787 G. McCalman Treat. Tea 81 In passing the road between Alexandria and Suez, some embarrassments may occur; these..may be avoided by [procuring]..an armed escort.
1852 Lyttelton (N.Z.) Times 13 Sept. 3 His Excellency..had made arrangements for an armed escort to convey gold from the diggings to Sydney.
1904 Parl. Deb. 4th Ser. 133 p. clxxiv/2 The charges for the armed escort accompanying the political Mission in Tibet being defrayed from the revenues of the Government of India.
1989 T. Clancy Clear & Present Danger v. 89 They take the usual precautions—irregular schedules, irregular routes, and they have armed escorts everywhere they go.
2011 Independent 7 July (Viewspaper section) 12/2 Her armed escort was provided by..Ahmed Wali Karzai, half-brother of the president.
armed eye n. [after post-classical Latin oculus armatus (1671 or earlier)] now rare the eye assisted by a microscope, telescope, or other means of optical magnification; cf. naked eye n.
ΚΠ
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica i. xvii. 113 'Tis enough for a Mortal Astrologer, if he make use of all that is visible; I say all that is presented by the Natural, though non-arm'd Eye.]
1708 G. Vaux tr. J. C. Sturm Mathesis Juvenilis III. 34 The Mountains and Promontories surrounding on every Side the Edges of these spotted Plains, most evidently conspicuous to the armed Eye [L. oculis armatis evidentissimè conspicua].
1816 S. T. Coleridge Statesman's Man. 29 The fixed stars, which appear of the same size to the naked as to the armed eye.
1905 Med. News 30 Dec. 1261/1 The border line of minute dilated blood vessels..could no longer be made out by the naked or armed eye.
1959 C. D. Hellman tr. M. Caspar Kepler iii. xiii. 190 The armed eye drew the furthest regions of the universe within its reach.
armed forces n. (with plural agreement) armed soldiers or military personnel; (esp. with the) the combined military forces of a country; the army, navy, and air force collectively.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > armed forces > [noun]
mainOE
strength?a1160
armaturea1450
force1487
ranka1533
armed forces1572
troops1598
military1757
fyrd1832
the services1850
1572 J. Leslie Copie Let. out of Scotl. f. 59v Whome you with armed forces did imprison and restraine, God set at libertie.
1647 E. Peyton High-way to Peace 5 Some in London were contrary in faction to the armed forces.
1774 T. Jefferson Summary View Rights Brit. Amer. in Early Amer. Imprints 20 His majesty has from time to time sent among us large bodies of armed forces, not made up of the people here, nor raised by the authority of our laws.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. vi. vii. 393 The dissident Armed-Forces have met.
2010 N.Y. Times Mag. 19 Dec. 36/1 The armed forces rely on civilian networks for everything from logistics to power to weapons purchases.
armed militia n. soldiers, or a military force, carrying weapons.
ΚΠ
1749 J. Burton Genuine Jrnl. Miraculous Escape Young Chevalier 50 They also met a boat, in which were some armed militia, with whom they spoke.
1842 H. Adams Life Albert Gallatin ii. 129 Several thousand people assembled... Of these some fifteen hundred or two thousand were armed militia.
1975 S. G. Payne Basque Nationalism vi. 168 The nationalists were clearly at a disadvantage due to their lack of an armed militia.
2007 Independent 5 Nov. 32/3 A company spokesman..[denied] accusations from the landless farmers that it sent an armed militia to the farm to evict them.
armed police n. (originally) a body of police carrying arms, an armed police force; (now usually) (with plural agreement) a number of police officers carrying guns, esp. (British) officers of a police division or unit trained and authorized to use firearms (cf. firearms officer n. at firearm n. Compounds 2b).
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > branch or part of police force > specific
water1552
armed police1787
special police1804
detective force1849
traffic police1883
vice squad1905
drug squad1913
blue force1920
ghost squad1922
flying squad1927
Sweeney1936
morality squad1945
courtesy patrol1961
strike force1961
pussy posse1963
drugs squad1965
vice1967
mobile1971
uniform branch1972
uniform1978
NCIS1991
1787 G. Grace Short Plea for Human Nature & Common Sense 43 Overunning the country with an armed police instead of an armed soldiery.
1802 R. Musgrave Mem. Rebellions in Ireland (ed. 3) I. 52 By that law government were empowered to raise an armed police in any county they chose.
1845 R. Ford Hand-bk. Travellers in Spain I. i. 41 The brotherhood which formed the old Spanish rural armed police.
1919 America 29 Nov. 100/2 The premises of Mr Hoban, news agent, Parnell Street, and Mr. Michael Brady, Talbot Street, Dublin, were raided by armed police and exhaustively searched.
1960 Guardian 25 Feb. 9/4 The arrival of jeep-loads of armed police.
2003 Daily Star 25 Mar. 17/4 He was arrested by armed police after a tense two-hour stand-off.
armed raid n. a raid made by a person or group carrying weapons, for the purpose of stealing, destroying, or suppressing something.
ΚΠ
1864 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 143 He had no desire to head an armed raid into the MacGregors' country if he could avoid it.
1922 P. Dukes Red Dusk & Morrow vi. 160 The extraordinary spectacle of an armed raid by the Bolshevist authorities on a public market.
1989 R. A. Hill Marcus Garvey p. xxxix When they continued to hold indoor meetings, the police mounted an armed raid on the local Liberty Hall, precipitating a bloody gun battle.
2003 Irish Times (Nexis) 15 Dec. 2 A couple were yesterday recovering after an armed raid on their home at Lisnagrieve... Their car and several thousand euro were taken.
armed robber n. a person who commits a robbery while carrying a weapon, now esp. a firearm.
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1691 W. King State Protestants of Ireland iii. 105 Nor did they attempt any thing upon the Armed Robbers..when invaded and assaulted by them.
1773 Morning Chron. 25 June Armed robbers, who..stop all waggons, stage coaches, post-chaises, horses, &c. and..take all the money they can find.
1889 Frank Leslie's Pop. Monthly May 546/2 I saw an armed robber standing on guard below. In a few minutes some more of the brigands burst into the room.
1989 K. Smith Inside Time i. 16 There is nothing romantic about prisons, or prisoners; nothing romantic at all about killers, rapists, bullies, pushers, strung-out druggies, [and] armed robbers.
2000 Coventry Evening Tel. (Nexis) 3 Aug. 2 The terrifying moment when a masked armed robber, carrying a sawn off shotgun, robbed the Tile Hill Lane branch of Coventry Building Society.
armed robbery n. (an act of) robbery committed by a person or group carrying weapons, now esp. firearms.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > [noun] > armed
armed robbery1791
sticking-up1852
stick-up1862
hold-up1878
1791 J. Trapp tr. L.-T. H. de Lavicomterie de Saint-Samson Crimes Kings of France 130 The fifty years of detested glory, of bloody renown, which Lewis XIV. acquired by murders, armed robberies [Fr. brigandage a main armée], fire [etc.].
1897 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 2 Jan. 2/4 The authors of piracies and armed robberies.
2013 Master Detective Apr. 16/1 The computer says that this guy is wanted in Texas for armed robbery.
armed services n. (with plural agreement and esp. with the) the combined military forces of a country; the army, navy, and air force collectively; cf. armed forces n.
ΚΠ
1806 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 20 Sept. 468 All volunteer exertions, as well as the armed services of the people, shall uniformly be at the will and option of the crown.
1943 Daily Progress (Charlottesvile, Va.) 6 Oct. 3/5 A protest..to the War Food Administration against inclusion of smaller sizes of certain varieties of fruit in the governments ‘set-aside’ order to protect needs for the armed services.
1993 Economist 7 Aug. 47/2 Though the factions within the armed services are many, all are unhappy with the economic reforms put in place by Mr Perez.
armed struggle n. political conflict involving weapons; (now esp.) irregular, often protracted hostilities in which a rebel or nationalist group uses arms in an attempt to gain political rights or overthrow an existing government or regime.Often so called by the group itself, rather than the regime it opposes.
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1704 Sober Enq. Pretended King James III sig. D Let it..be an armed struggle among ourselves, without any Foreign Succours on either side, whether..a Protestant..or a Papist.
1838 U.S. Democratic Rev. Jan. 216 The idea of an armed struggle for dominion over a powerful colony, by England, at this day, is too absurd.
1869 Nation 25 Mar. 230/1 If the United States [recognizes]..Cuban rebels..Cuba shall have afforded good evidence of her ability to carry on an organized armed struggle with Spain.
1967 Spotlight on S. Afr. News Digest (Afr. Nat. Congress, Dar es Salaam) 23 June 1 The African National Congress embarked on armed struggle in which the violence of apartheid will be subdued by the violence of the masses.
1989 J. J. Lee Ireland 1912–85 i. 42 Collins, who..played an active role in organising the Volunteers and the IRB after his release from detention in 1917, soon emerged as a key figure in the armed struggle.
2013 Daily Tel. 5 July 17/4 ‘Western democracy does not work for us. We must return to jihad and armed struggle to change society.’ Most Egyptians will reject this.
armed tapeworm n. now rare the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium, whose rostellum is armed with two rows of spiny hooks.
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?1810 Family Receipt-bk. 205/2 Of these, are the armed tape-worm, the unarmed tape-worm, the long limbed tape-worm, [and] the short limbed or broad tape-worm.
1908 Science 19 June 950/2 The data given are not sufficient to show definitely whether the cysticerci in question belong to Taenia solium, the armed tapeworm of man, as some authors have believed.
1986 J. F. Gracey Meat Hygiene (ed. 8) xvi. 391/2 T. solium..inhabits the upper part of the small intestine of man, is sometimes referred to as the armed tapeworm.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
armedadj.2
/ˈɑːmd/, U.S. /ˈɑrmd/ Chiefly with modifying word or as the second element in compounds: having or fitted with (a specified type or number of) arms.bare-, long-, one-, open-, two-armed, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > arm > [adjective]
armed1500
long-armed1575
brachial1578
finned1785
one-armed1809
one-arm1906
society > faith > artefacts > symbol (general) > Christian symbols or images > [adjective] > of cross: fitted with arms
armed1878
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [adjective] > types of furniture generally > as having specific parts
two-leaved1610
two-leaf1634
fall-down1823
marble-topped1840
spindle-shank1841
spindle-shanked1849
spindle-legged1863
marble-top1869
armed1878
roll-top1884
monopod1890
break-front1928
1500 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. 477 Thre sawis, ane armyt.
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 30 She must be strong and short armed, large footed, with the seare of the foote softe.
1609 T. Heywood Troia Britanica x. sig. Z2v Broad shoulder'd, and big-arm'd, large brested, strong His match in Armes, liu'd not the Greekes among.
a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) iv. ii. 65 His shoulders broad, and strong, Armd long and round. View more context for this quotation
1755 G. Colman & B. Thornton Connoisseur I. 146 The red-armed Belles that appear in the Park every Sunday.
1773 T. Jefferson Memorandum Bks. Dec. (1997) I. 327 He should make a double armed water-wheel..and a single armed water wheel.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. v. 896 Juno the white-arm'd.
1845 Encycl. Metrop. XVII. 565/1 According to the sides of the thorax being armed or armless.
1869 Amer. Naturalist 3 236 These animals are true cuttle-fish of the eight armed type.
1878 H. P. Gurney Crystallogr. 27 An equal-armed cross.
1922 J. B. Kenyon in D. M. Kenyon & J. B. Kenyon Spring Flowers & Rowen 102 A sunny field reaped by a brown-armed lass.
1995 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 2 July ii. 34/1 Also on view was a hoop-armed bench with cast-iron sides.
2009 K. Whitfield In Great Waters xix. 200 Out in the bay, the deepsmen seemed vast, long-bodied like horses and great-armed like blacksmiths.
Compounds
armed chair n. a chair with arms; an armchair.In later use rarely as a fixed collocation.
ΚΠ
1635 in W. Fraser Mem. Earls of Haddington (1889) II. 302 Thrie armed chyres.
1703 M. Martin Descr. W. Islands Scotl. 326 My Lord Viscount Tarbat..came into a House and sat down in an Arm'd Chair.
1884 Peterson's Mag. Oct. 344/2 The woman standing there..glided into the armed-chair.
1934 H. Nicolson Curzon: Last Phase ii. 48 Curzon lowered himself stiffly into the armed chair which fronts the desk of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
2006 R. Melrose Why Students Underachieve vi. 99 Children are encouraged to begin noticing what surfaces they find most comfortable—an armless chair, an armed chair, a cushion, or the floor.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1c1300
adj.21500