Word of the Day

: April 11, 2007

akimbo

adjective or adverb uh-KIM-boh

What It Means

1 : having the hand on the hip and the elbow turned outward

2 : set in a bent position

akimbo in Context

The model, arms akimbo, struck a pose at the end of the runway.

Did You Know?

It's "akimbo" nowadays, but in Middle English, the spelling "in kenebowe" was used for the bent, hand-on-hip arm (or later, for any bent position). Originally, the term was fairly neutral, but now saying that a person is standing with "arms akimbo" implies a posture that communicates defiance, confidence, aggressiveness, or arrogance. In her novel Little Women, Louisa May Alcott took the word one step further, extending it into the figurative realm when she explained that tomboyish Jo had not been invited to participate in an elegant event with the other young ladies of the neighborhood because "her elbows were decidedly akimbo at this period of her life."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.