akimbo

[uh-kim-boh]

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adjective, adverb

with hand on hip and elbow bent outward: to stand with arms akimbo.

Origin of akimbo

1375–1425; late Middle English in kenebowe < Old Norse *i keng boginn bent into a crook (i in, keng accusative of kengr hook, boginn past participle of bjūga to bend)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for akimbo

jagged, crooked, crossing, forked, oblique, zigzag, bifurcate, cornered, V-shaped, akimbo, divaricate, skewed, staggered

Examples from the Web for akimbo

Historical Examples of akimbo

She was holding up her skirt with one hand, and the other arm was akimbo at her waist.
The Manxman
Hall Caine
Her arms were akimbo and a pipe was thrust between her teeth.
The Black Pearl
Mrs. Wilson Woodrow
Akimbo, a-kim′bo, adj. with hand on hip and elbow bent outward.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)
Various
She walked slowly, the long black dress she always wore trailing after her, yet half-looped up over one arm, akimbo on her hip.
Mrs. Severn, Vol. 1 (of 3)
Mary Elizabeth Carter
His arms were akimbo, his feet planted as firmly as if he were a particularly stubborn brand of tree.
Pagan Passions
Gordon Randall Garrett

British Dictionary definitions for akimbo

akimbo

adjective, adverb

arms akimbo or with arms akimbo with hands on hips and elbows projecting outwards

Word Origin for akimbo

C15 in kenebowe, literally: in keen bow, that is, in a sharp curve

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for akimbo

c.1400, in kenebowe, of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle English phrase in keen bow "at a sharp angle," or from a Scandinavian word akin to Icelandic kengboginn "bow-bent," but this seems not to have been used in this exact sense. Many languages use a teapot metaphor for this, such as French faire le pot a deux anses "to play the pot with two handles."