Make Your Point: ARSENAL

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pronounce ARSENAL:

AR suh null

connect this word to others:

I hate guns, so I almost trashed the word arsenal. But it's such a powerful metaphor, and I find myself using it in speech, and appreciating it in books and articles. So here we are.

One lovely thing about the word arsenal is that it traces back to the Arabic dar as-sina'ah, meaning "workshop," or more literally, "house of art or craft."

See if you can recall the terms below, which also derive from beautiful Arabic words:

1. From the Arabic for "zero," we get c___er, which today means "a thing or person with no value."

2. From an Arabic term meaning "the way over the head," we get z___th, which today means "the highest point, the very best part of something."

3. From an Arabic word that might literally mean "one who lives in the desert," we get a___esque, which today means "something full of beauty, complexity, and embellishment, as if flowing with many graceful lines."

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The word "arsenal" traces back through Italian to an Arabic work for "workshop." In Venice, Italy, an ancient and still-famous collection of shipyards and naval armories was called the Arsenale di Venezia or Venetian Arsenal, and, well, English just can't resist a cool Italian word. So by the 1570s, we were using "arsenal" to mean "a place where many weapons are stored."

That's still how we use the word today. And in a figurative sense, if you have an arsenal, you have a collection of useful or effective things, skills, or strategies.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Noun, the countable kind: "They have an arsenal of tactics;" "Their arsenals are fully stocked."

Other forms:

Just the plural noun, "arsenals."

how to use it:

Pick the clear, common word "arsenal" to describe someone's storehouse of ideas, tactics, strategies—anything you could liken to weapons.

For example, you might talk about debaters with their arsenals of strategies, doctors with their arsenals of cancer treatments, playground children with their arsenals of insults, and writers with their arsenals of words.

Of course, "arsenal" is a violent metaphor, implying that people are on the offense. If you want a more defensive metaphor, one that implies armor instead of arms, pick "panoply."

examples:

"The visit to the toy department was something else... There was the arsenal of course: guns, pistols, shotguns, slingshots, knives, and swords. It's no wonder kids grow up to be killers with all that rehearsal."
— Paul Zindel, The Pigman, 1968

"Our arsenals for fighting off bacteria are so powerful, and involve so many different defense mechanisms, that we are in more danger from them than from the invaders."
— Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, 1974

has this page helped you understand "arsenal"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "arsenal" without saying "supply" or "storehouse."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "With an arsenal of (things), (someone) is (doing something)."

Example 1: "With an arsenal of veggies and spices, Chad is making a breakfast scramble."

Example 2: "Since the hour he had arrived, Lady Tanda had been stalking him, armed with a never-ending arsenal of lamprey pies, wild boars, and savory cream stews."
— George R. R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, 1998

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for May is "Color Your Own Colloquialism."

I'll give you the outline of a colloquialism, from English or translated from another language, along with its definition, and you create your own version of it. Your version can be goofy, straightforward, or unrepeatable in polite company: just have fun with it! To see the real version of the colloquialism, scroll all the way down.

Try this one today:

Meaning: "To get things organized so that you're well-prepared to do something."

Outline: "To get your (specific things or animals) (into some tidy physical arrangement)."

review this word:

1. The opposite of an ARSENAL could be

A. a home-cooked meal.
B. many layers of defenses.
C. a brief quote or excerpt.

2. In a book, Sonia Nazario mentions an "arsenal of _____."

A. courage: the love of your child
B. technology: helicopters, night-vision goggles, and seismic sensors that detect footsteps
C. essentials: food, medicines, wheelchairs, and a scrap of land to build a permanent shelter

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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