Arm \Arm\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Armed; p. pr. & vb. n. Arming.]

[OE. armen, F. armer, fr. L. armare, fr. arma, pl., arms. See arms.]

1. To take by the arm; to take up in one's arms. [Obs.]

And make him with our pikes and partisans A grave: come, arm him. --Shak.

Arm your prize; I know you will not lose him. --Two N. Kins.

2. To furnish with arms or limbs. [R.]

His shoulders broad and strong, Armed long and round. --Beau. & Fl.

3. To furnish or equip with weapons of offense or defense; as, to arm soldiers; to arm the country.

Abram . . . armed his trained servants. --Gen. xiv. 14.

4. To cover or furnish with a plate, or with whatever will add strength, force, security, or efficiency; as, to arm the hit of a sword; to arm a hook in angling.

5. Fig.: To furnish with means of defense; to prepare for resistance; to fortify, in a moral sense.

Arm yourselves . . . with the same mind. --1 Pet. iv. 1.

To arm a magnet, to fit it with an armature.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Arming \Arm"ing\, n.

1. The act of furnishing with, or taking, arms.

The arming was now universal. --Macaulay.

2. (Naut.) A piece of tallow placed in a cavity at the lower end of a sounding lead, to bring up the sand, shells, etc., of the sea bottom. --Totten.

3. pl. (Naut.) Red dress cloths formerly hung fore and aft outside of a ship's upper works on holidays.

Arming press (Bookbinding), a press for stamping titles and designs on the covers of books.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)