arsenal

noun

ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl How to pronounce arsenal (audio)
ˈär-sə-
Synonyms of arsenalnext
1
a
: an establishment for the manufacture or storage of arms and military equipment
The city is home to a federal arsenal.
b
: a collection of weapons
2
: store, repertoire
the team's arsenal of veteran players

Synonyms

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of arsenal in a Sentence

The city is home to a federal arsenal. Doctors have a broad arsenal of medicines to choose from. the team's arsenal of veteran players
Recent Examples on the Web The newest drone in its arsenal, the Mohajer-10, can carry a payload of 300 kilograms for a range of 2,000 kilometers, according to Breaking Defense. —Beth Bailey, Fox News, 11 May 2024 To prevent chapter two from becoming a reality, the most important tool in our arsenal will be widespread testing. —Michael Mina, TIME, 9 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for arsenal 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arsenal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "dockyard for the construction and repair of naval vessels," borrowed from Middle French archenal, arsenail, arsenal (in reference to the naval dockyard of Venice), borrowed (with conformation of the final to -al -al entry 2) from Upper Italian (Venice) arzanà, presumably alteration (by metanalysis, with the initial taken as the preposition d', di "from") of darsenà (attested in Genoese, earlier in Medieval Latin as darsena, darsana), borrowed from Arabic dār al-ṣināʽa "place of manufacture," from dār "house" + al "the" (assimilated to aṣ) + ṣināʽa "manufacture" (derivative of ṣanaʽa "to make")

Note: Forms with final -ale (as arsenale, arzanale, arzenale) are attested in Italian in the sixteenth century and may be the immediate source of the English word. The French forms with -al may reflect these, though attested about a century earlier. As arzanà the Venetian word is attested in the text of Dante's Inferno ("nell'arzanà de' Viniziani," XXI, 7).

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of arsenal was in 1555

Dictionary Entries Near arsenal

arsen-

arsenal

arsenate

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Arsenal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arsenal. Accessed 18 May. 2024.

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Kids Definition

arsenal

noun
ar·​se·​nal ˈärs-nəl How to pronounce arsenal (audio)
-ᵊn-əl
1
: a place for the manufacture or storage of arms
2
: a collection of weapons

More from Merriam-Webster on arsenal

Nglish: Translation of arsenal for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of arsenal for Arabic Speakers

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