armament

[In Fr. armement; Sp., Port., & Ital. arm a men to; Lat. arm amentum = the outfitting of a ship, the supplying it with everything excepting only its hull: armo =to furnish with implements; arm a = implements,.. the tackle of a ship.] I. The act of arming a fleet or army; the state of being armed. II. That which constitutes the equipment or which is itself equipped. 1. That which constitutes the equipment. (Often in the pl., armaments , signifying everything needful to render the naval and military forces of a country efficient.) Spec ., weapons and ammunition. "... and the increase [of expenditure] is for the most part due to more costly armaments ."-Times, Nov. 11, 1876. 2. The forces equipped (a) A naval expedition fitted out for war; a fleet, with the men, guns, ammunition, and stores on board. "English sailors, with more reason, predicted that the first gale would send the whole of this fair-weather armament to the bottom of the Channel."- Macaulay : Hist. Eng ., ch. xvi. (b) Land forces fully equipped; an army encamped for war. (Lit. & fig .) (Byron: Siege of Corinth , xx.)