armhole

noun — 3 senses

armhole

noun

US /ˈɑɹmˌhoʊl/

Etymology From Middle English arme hole, armehole, arm hole, arm-hole, armhole, arm-hool(e), armole, harmehole; equivalent to arm + hole.

1

Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences Midlands, Archaic, Dialectal A human armpit.

  • An aposteme gendred in þe purgynge places, þat is to say, of þe brayne vnder þe eres, of þe herte vnder þe arme holes, of þe lyuer in the schares.c. 1425, Guy de Chauliac, The Grande Chirurgie, page 154:
  • Put these ragges and cloutes vnder thine arme holes.1535, Bible (Coverdale Bible), Jer. 38:12
1 more example
  • Armhole is a variant on armpit in the west and east Midlands.2005 September 7, Birmingham Post, page 9:
2

Anatomy, Medicine, Sciences Obsolete, Rare Similar structures in other animals.

3

Fashion, Lifestyle A hole for an arm in a piece of clothing.

  • He... violently pull'd off her Riding-Hood, and tore it at the Arm Holes in pulling it off.1731 January 15, Proceedings of the Old Bailey, page 13:
Synonyms
armpit, axilla, oxter, underarm

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.