ˈarm-ˌhole
[f. arm n.1]
1. An arm-pit. arch. or Obs.
| 1391 Chaucer Astrol. i. §21. 13 Gemini [hath] thyn arm-holes and thin armes. 1535 Coverdale Jer. xxxviii. 12 Put these ragges and cloutes vnder thine arme holes. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. ii. iv. (1651) 268 [They] will wade up to the Armholes. 1696 Bp. Patrick Comm. Exod. xxix, The Girdle..about him under the Arm-holes. |
| fig. 1865 Cornh. Mag. 38 Mr. Ruskin has been rightly praised for applying such a bold yet true metaphor as ‘arm-holes’ to those pits which are scooped under the branches at the point where they leave the tree. |
2. The similar cavity in other animals,
e.g. behind the fore-legs of a horse.
arch. or
Obs.| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 309 The horse..will be very hollow in the brisket towards the arme-holes. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 76 Where it toucheth the arme-holes, it becommeth in dogs and Apes very fleshy. |
3. The hole in a garment through which the arm is put.
| 1775 in Ash. 1835 Miss Kemble Rec. Later Life I. 38 Tight waistbands, tight armholes and tight bodices. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. v. 57 With his thumbs fixed into the armholes of his waistcoat. |