Etymograph

English

arm

Arm comes from Old English earm, from Proto-Germanic *armaz ‘arm’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit together’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂érmosreconstructedsuffixed form of *h₂er-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*armazreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*armreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150earm
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arm
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611arm

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂érmosreconstructedsuffixed form of *h₂er-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*armazreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*armreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150earm
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arm
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611arm

Earliest quotation: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to join, fit together’

order, reason, ready, rate, article, art, artist, ratio, ordinary, army, coordination, coordinate, harmony, alarm, subordinate, ordination, arthritis, articulate, ornament, anarchy, ornate, arithmetic, armor, inertia, inert, aristocratic, adorn, artisan, ordinate, articulation, philharmonic, harmonic, ordinator, harmonious, ordinal, rta, armament, rime, ordain, ordo, 80 more

Another origin of arm

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁erm-‘poor, ill’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*armaz‘poor’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*arm‘poor, miserable’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150earm‘poor, miserable, pitiful, wretched’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arm‘poor, wretched’
  6. Englishtodayarm

Another origin of arm

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400armes
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500armes
  3. Englishtodayarm

Today it means

noun The portion of the upper human appendage, from the shoulder to the wrist and sometimes including the hand.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / arm

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