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-1‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂érmos1reconstructedsuffixed form of *h₂er-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*armaz1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*arm1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150earm1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500arm1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611arm1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English arm
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-Wiktionary, English arm‘to join’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂érmosWiktionary, English armreconstructedsuffixed form of *h₂er-
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*armazWiktionary, English armreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*armWiktionary, English armreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150earmWiktionary, English arm
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500armWiktionary, English arm
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611armWiktionary, English arm. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with arm, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

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

  • order ← ordre ← ordne ← ōrdinem ← *ordō
  • reason ← resoun ← raisun ← ratiō ← ratus
  • ready ← redy
  • rate ← rata ← prō ratā parte ← ratus ← reor
  • article ← articulus ← artus ← *h₂értus
  • art ← artem ← ars ← *artis ← *h₂értis
  • artist ← artiste ← artista ← ars ← *artis
  • ratio ← reor
  • ordinary ← ordenarie ← ordinaire ← ordinarius ← ōrdō
  • army ← armee ← armee ← armātus ← armō
  • coordination ← coōrdinātiōnem ← ōrdinātiō ← ōrdinō ← ōrdō
  • coordinate ← coōrdinātus ← ōrdinō ← ōrdō ← *ordō

107 more relatives in the full family tree

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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

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Today it means

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

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “arm”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

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