under-armadj.
/ˈʌndərɑːm/, U.S. /ˈəndərˌɑrm/ 1.
a. Cricket. = underhand adj. 1c, 1d.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [adjective] > type of throw
overhand1828
overarm1864
under-arm1877
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [adjective] > manner of bowling
straight-arm1807
straight-armed1827
round-arm1835
round hand1847
underhand1850
round-armed1854
wristy1867
fast-medium1873
under-arm1877
quick1899
windmill1900
body line1932
1877 C. Box Eng. Game Cricket iii. 33 The ball may be twisted by the usual mode of under-arm bowling.
1882 Daily Tel. 19 May This brought on Humphreys, slow under-arm bowler.
b. In other sporting contexts. Also as adv.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [adverb] > type of throw
overhand1598
under-arm1929
1929 W. E. Collinson Spoken Eng. (ed. 10) 90 I'll have to serve underarm, I've strained my wrist.
1960 E. W. Swanton W. Indies Revisited 230 An under-arm throw by Smith.
1974 R. J. Mills & E. Butler Tackle Badminton v. 39 Take a good underarm swing, turning your left shoulder towards the net.
1976 Times 3 Feb. 9/4 When one recalls that most women of the period [sc. 1909] would have added a hat to the recommended [tennis] ensemble one can see why they had to serve under-arm.
2. Swimming. Of a stroke: Made with the arm below the level of the body. Also elliptical.
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the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > [adjective] > swimming > specific stroke
underhand1705
hand over hand1849
overhand1876
overarm1887
under-arm1905
butterfly1934
1905 Times 10 Aug. 10/4 Burgess,..using his favourite under-arm stroke,..went off at a good pace.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 18 Aug. 9/2 After the second hour he varied his stroke for a while to the underarm.
3. Dressmaking. Of a seam: that edges the lower half of the arm-hole of a garment, or that joins the underside of a sleeve or the side of a bodice.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [adjective] > stitched or sewn > seam
run and fell1852
sew-and-fell1880
strapped1892
lapped1894
under-arm1908
1908 M. E. Morgan How to dress Doll (1973) v. 43 Put the seam of the sleeve a little to the front of the under~arm seam.
1941 L. I. Wilder Little Town on Prairie ix. 85 Laura sewed the whalebone stays onto the underarm seams.
1964 McCall's Sewing in Colour xi. 161/1 Pin the underarm seam of bodice and sleeve.
1964 McCall's Sewing in Colour xi. 162/1 On the pattern there will be a slash marking at the curve of the underarm.
4. Of a bag or case: carried under the arm.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > bag > [adjective] > carried under arm
under-arm1927
1925 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Spring–Summer 279/1 Under-the-arm bag.]
1927 Glasgow Herald 21 Jan. 8 Whatever she carries about with her she keeps in an attaché case, an ‘under-arm bag’, or some other receptacle.
1974 Harrod's Christmas Catal. 19 Under-arm document case £27.50.
5. Applied to various items of personal care used on the armpit, as under-arm deodorant, under-arm razor. Also under-arm odour.
ΚΠ
1947 H. M. McLuhan in Horizon Oct. 132 The means of defeating under-arm odour.
1968 A. Diment Great Spy Race viii. 122 At twelve, showered, shaved with her small under-arm razor..we were on the coast road.
1976 J. Wainwright Walther P. 38 21 You use under-arm deodorant.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1877