Rearmed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To provide new weapons or military resources again after a previous reduction To replenish defensive capabilities that were diminished or taken away To set up again the means necessary for engaging in combat situations
2. To outfit or supply with arms once more after disarmament
3. To restore previously removed or reduced weaponry for defense or combat

Etymology: "Rearmed" is the past tense and past participle of "rearm," so its history is that of the verb itself. "Rearm" is formed from the prefix "re-," meaning again, attached to "arm," which goes back through Middle English and Old French to Latin "arma," meaning weapons or equipment. The Latin prefix "re-" is what gives the sense of doing something once more: to arm again after having been disarmed or after stores ran low. The base verb "arm" came into English through Old French "armer," from Latin "armare," to equip or furnish with weapons, a sense that stayed close to the original military meaning. Attaching "re-" to it produced a verb with a clear, literal meaning that has changed little, which is why "rearm" and its forms still describe supplying weapons again rather than shifting into something more abstract.

Synonyms: re-equipped, rearmed, re-fortified, re-supplied, restructured

Antonyms: disarmed, dismantled, decommissioned, weakened, reduced