See Also: arsenal(dictionary)
arsenal(dictionary)

arsenal (iou)



arsenal noun. E16.
[French arsenal, archenal or its source Italian arzanale, (now) arsenale, from Venetian Italian arzana ult. (with unexpl. loss of d) from Arab. dar-(a-)inaa workshop, from dar house + AL-2 + inaa art, manufacture, from anaa make, fabricate.]
A dock equipped for the reception, construction, repair, and fitting of ships. E16-M19.
A government establishment for the storage or manufacture of weapons and ammunition; a store of weapons (lit. & fig.). L16.
Gibbon Offensive weapons of all sorts, and military engines, which were deposited in the arsenals. J. K. Jerome I collected a small arsenaltwo or three pieces of coal, a few hard pears,..an empty soda-water bottle, and a few articles of that sortand..bombarded the spot from where the noise appeared to come. M. H. Abrams Aristotle bequeathed an arsenal of instruments for technical analysis of poetic forms and their elements.