Armsmaker

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A professional or company dedicated to the production of military weapons and ammunition services
2. An entity or individual involved in the creation and supply of armaments and related military hardware
3. A person or company that designs and creates firearms and military weaponry

Etymology: "Armsmaker" is a plain compound: "arms," meaning weapons or armour, joined to "maker," one who makes something. The "arms" in question is the old English sense of the word, which comes from Latin "arma," meaning implements of war, and the plural form has long been used for weapons generally, as in phrases about bearing arms. The compound describes exactly what it sounds like: someone who manufactures weapons, and by extension the firms and workshops that produce them. The pattern is very old in English. "Armour-maker" and similar "-maker" compounds for craftsmen who produced specialised goods were common in the medieval and early modern periods, and "armsmaker" follows the same logic, with the trade name simply fused into a single word. Its modern use is mostly in discussion of industry and policy, where it can refer to a company as well as a person.