Armsful

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A quantity that can be held in the arms at one time
2. an amount gathered or carried in a person's embrace
3. a measure of something captured in a person's grasp at once

Etymology: "Armsful" is simply the plural of "armful," so it takes its history from that base word. "Armful" is formed from "arm" plus the suffix "-ful," which forms nouns meaning as much as can be held by the thing named before it. A "mouthful" is what fits in the mouth and a "handful" what fits in the hand, and an armful is the quantity the arms can hold at once. The plural spelling follows the usual pattern for nouns ending in "-ful," where the ending takes the "s" at the end of the word, so "armfuls" is the form most dictionaries give, while "armsful" is the less common variant that puts the "s" on the base noun. Both describe the same idea: a load gathered up in the crook of the arms.

Synonyms: load, bundle, collection, gathering, clutch

Antonyms: emptiness, lack, void, deficiency, insufficiency