Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adv. In or into a position in which the hands are on the hips and the elbows are bowed outward: children standing akimbo by the fence.
- adj. Placed in such a way as to have the hands on the hips and the elbows bowed outward: children standing with arms akimbo.
- adj. Being in a bent, bowed, or arched position: "There he remained, dead to the world, limbs akimbo, until we left” ( Alex Shoumatoff).
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Literally, in a sharp bend; at an acute angle; adjectively, bent; crooked: said of the arms when the hands are on the hips and the elbows are bent outward at an acute angle.
Wiktionary
- adj. With a crook or bend; with the hand on the hip and elbow turned outward.
- adv. Into, in, or of the position where the arms are akimbo.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. With a crook or bend; with the hand on the hip and elbow turned outward.
WordNet 3.0
- adv. with hands on hips and elbows extending outward
- adj. (used of arms and legs) bent outward with the joint away from the body
Etymologies
- From Middle English in kenebowe, in kene bowe ("in a keen bow", i.e. "in a sharp bend or angle"), from in ("in") + keen, kene ("brave, keen, sharp") + bowe ("bow, bend"). Alternately, possibly from Old Norse keng ("bent") + bogi ("a bow"), compare Icelandic kengboginn ("bow-bent"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English in kenebowe : in, in; see in1 + kenebowe (kene-, of unknown meaning + bowe, bow, bend; see bow3). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“It was in one of these that our word akimbo unexpectedly appeared more than 200 years earlier than the next citation in the 1600s.”
“The word akimbo is at least 600 years old and one source points to a literal meaning of "a keen bow" meaning”
“Perhaps this post on Walter Guthrie as an Archaeopteryx in akimbo. moon said ...”
“Even right now they're not spectacular, but since YRHT already jumped the shark, I have to use words like "akimbo" to get chuckles.”
“The sight of her, as she stood "akimbo," her hands resting upon her enormous haunches, only strengthened the sinister impression, which was still further confirmed by my observing that it had caused a similar effect elsewhere -- upon”
“The general sits astride his favorite horse, Cincinnati; he is slouched, right arm akimbo, hat pulled low, gazing off in the distance with the cool dispassion for which he was famous.”
The Wall Street Journal: A Great Bronze Tarnished by Neglect
“Poor Steven Adler, nodding out on heroin but still standing, knees half-bent and arms akimbo, appeared momentarily to be practicing some kind of narcotic tai chi.”
“With her long blonde hair, micro-dresses that may incite the prurient to hope for an occasional fleeting glimpse of her underwear and photographs on her book jackets of her in leather dresses, arms akimbo, like a stern but voluptuous school mistress, she is not, as Mr. Moore wrote, “faux glam.””
“And exhausted; I slept on the way to Mark's house last night, and slept for much of the day, rousing myself to Twitter a senryu: sprawled, limbs akimbo his bed emits sleepions recovery is.”
“The DYDA DISPATCHES: Coalitions akimbo skip to main | skip to sidebar”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘akimbo’.
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Used
halcyon, ineluctable, inspissated, incarnadine, askance, demur, saltation, requisite, effusive, specious, liminality, indomitable and 114 more...
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Tristram Shandy
souse, meet, sententious, propound, boot, casuistry, avoirdupois, akimbo, disport, lenity, succussation, sweetbread and 197 more...
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FUN - gestures
There are thousands of sign languages and possibly millions of gestures in human communication but not all of them have a name. Some are understood everywhere, some are understood everywhere but di...
okay sign, abhayamudra, apology, beckoning sign, Bellamy salute, benediction, blessing, blah-blah, "check, please” sign, clenched fist, Chinese number ge..., Clinton thumb and 360 more...
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Favorite words
braggadocio, conundrum, ligneous, specious, akimbo, hubris, mellifluous, parapet, opine, indissoluble, tempest-tost, prithee and 24 more...
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cicatrix
scar tissue
minatory, naira, Cluniac, embracive, prolix, hierophant, timorous, adduce, veracious, dysphoric, sang-froid, vitiate and 505 more...
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The 123 List
words listed more than 123 times
ethereal, ephemeral, persnickety, akimbo, zeitgeist, chiaroscuro, sesquipedalian, wanderlust, schadenfreude, alacrity, anathema, laconic and 14 more...
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Cool sounding words
Stuff that either rolls off the tongue really well or sounds interesting.
suppurate, inveterate, douche, Constantinople, zyzygy, polyglot, serendipitous, vivisection, solypsis, conflagration, instupituous, fecundity and 52 more...
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Words for everyday things
tittle, lunule, crepuscular ray, ferrule, gynecomastia, muntin, akimbo, skeuomorph, paresthesia, obdormition, phosphene, armscye and 9 more...
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October Words-11849
During the month of October, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has a...
desalination, Girn, incongruous, irreparably, pneumatic, metastatic, languorous, menagerie, mottled, valise, moot, deferential and 28 more...
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Hooks
hook, Captain Hook, shook, grappling hook, meat hook, pruning hook, hooks, hook 'em horns, Hook 'em Horns, sky-hook, hook, line, and s..., hook, line and si... and 66 more...
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Elbow Words
dunch, elbuck, jundie, olecranon, anconad, akimbo, pasguard, ancon, ginglymus, coudee, macaroni, miter and 6 more...
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Verecund, flivver, etc
Just some words I happen to enjoy. Some thread-worn, some not.
yegg, yob, verecund, amatory, fermata, threepenny, gruntled, flivver, gamboge, decolletage, ordure, nudnik and 175 more...
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....the prison library
// god mandated attempt to realign with the timeless forces of the universe via remastered locution //
desultory, dénouement, demesne, dalliance, chatoyant, antechamber, akimbo, cacography, germane, cuboid, miasma, mordant and 89 more...
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delightful descriptors
petrichor, omphaloskepsis, ouroboros, oneiric, flaneur, saunter, dishabituation, fractalization, eudemony, phosphorescence, holographic, umwelt and 136 more...
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ICE
quincunx, adoxography, panjundrum, breloque, surd, scripturient, rousant, favrile, embouchure, aquarelle, griffonage, sussultatory and 491 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 3027 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for akimbo.
bilby Surprisingly English etymology. Apr 19, 2011
JTroyer "He frowns at me for a moment, arms akimbo." Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen Oct 17, 2010
humongoloid my dad had a phrase for strippers who were 'ta-tas akimbo'. Feb 27, 2010
PossibleUnderscore What's the difference? (kimbaw and akimbo?) Jul 17, 2009
bilby See kimbaw. Apr 13, 2009
reesetee I must have been out sick that day. Oct 10, 2007
skipvia We all remember Legs Akimbo, the famous exotic dancer. Oct 10, 2007