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Origin and history of forearm

forearm(n.)

between the elbow and the wrist, 1741, from fore- + arm (n.1).

forearm(v.)

"prepare for an attack," 1590s, from fore- + arm (v.) "take up weapons." Related: Forearmed; forearming.

also from 1590s

Entries linking to forearm

arm(n.1)

[upper limb of the human body], Middle English arm, from Old English earm, from Proto-Germanic *armaz, from PIE root *ar- "to fit together" (source also of Sanskrit irmah "arm," Greek arthron "a joint," Latin armus "shoulder"). Germanic cognates include Old Saxon, Danish, Swedish, Middle Dutch, German arm, Old Norse armr, Old Frisian erm.

Arm of the sea was in Old English. Arm-twister "powerful persuader" is from 1915. Arm-wrestling is from 1899.

They wenten arme in arme yfere Into the gardyn [Chaucer]
fore-

Middle English for-, fore-, from Old English fore-, often for- or foran-, from fore (adv. & prep.), which was used as a prefix in Old English as in other Germanic languages with a sense of "before in time, rank, position," etc., or designating the front part or earliest time.

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    cubit
    ancient unit of measure (usually from 18 to 22 inches) based on the forearm from elbow to fingertip, early 14c., from Latin...cubitum, cubitus "the elbow, the forearm," generally regarded as a derivative of PIE *keu(b)- "to bend," but de Vaan finds...It matters little whether the original meaning was 'forearm' or 'the elbow joint'...."as long as a cubit" (mid-15c.), also "pertaining to the forearm" (1610s)....
    ell
    unit of measure, Old English eln, originally "forearm, length of the arm" (as a measure, anywhere from a foot and a half...to two feet), from PIE root *el- "elbow, forearm."...
    elbow
    1200, elbowe, from a contraction of Old English elnboga "elbow," from Proto-Germanic *elino-bugon, literally "bend of the forearm...First element is from PIE *elina "arm," from root *el- "elbow, forearm."...
    embrace
    assimilated form of en- "in" (see en- (1)) + brace, braz "the arms," from Latin bracchium (neuter plural brachia) "an arm, a forearm...
    bough
    shoulder, hock, joint"), from PIE root *bhagu- "arm" (source also of Sanskrit bahus "arm," Armenian bazuk, Greek pakhys "forearm...
    radius
    As the name of the shorter of the two bones of the forearm from 1610s in English (the Latin word had been used thus by the...
    pretzel
    bracciatella, Old Provençal brassadel), diminutive of Latin bracchiatus "with branches, with arms," from bracchium "an arm, a forearm...
    ram
    Old English ramm "male sheep," also "battering ram, instrument for crushing or driving by impact," and the zodiac sign; earlier rom "male sheep," a West Germanic word (cognates: Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch, Old High German ram), of unknown origin. Perhaps [Klein] conne
    mar
    Middle English merren "to deface, disfigure; impair in form or substance" (early 13c.), from Old English merran (Anglian), mierran (West Saxon) "to waste, spoil," from Proto-Germanic *marzjan (source also of Old Frisian meria, Old High German marren "to hinder, obstruct," Gothic
    gird
    Old English gyrdan "put a belt or girdle around; encircle; bind with flexible material; invest with attributes," from Proto-Germanic *gurdjan (source also of Old Norse gyrða, Old Saxon gurdian, Old Frisian gerda, Dutch gorden, Old High German gurtan, German gürten), from PIE *ghr

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