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Glite Dictionary
Armed Forces Day

Armed Forces Day

1 3.0
A day each year in the United States to honour people who serve in the military
  • noun
  • /ɑrməd fɔrsɪz deɪ/
  • US
translation icon : Día de las Fuerzas Armadas
  • And there were more antiwar protests on Armed Forces Day in May.

Examples

  • Saturday, May 19 is the official date for Armed Forces Day this year.

  • By November 1989, he was able to conduct an Armed Forces Day ceremony, attended by thousands of Valley residents, in the same Uchiza square which had been the scene of Sendero's triumph over the police the preceding March.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Today is Armed Forces Day, a day to honor the military services.

  • Honor the military on Armed Forces Day, May 19, at a new river parade dedicated to the men and women of the Armed Forces.

Surface Forms

Armed Forces Day singular
Armed Forces Days plural

Morphology

armed + force + day

The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'armed' (with weapons) + 'forces' (military groups) + 'day' (a calendar day), so it clearly denotes a day honoring military personnel. This compositional pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the words will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Armed Forces Day began after World War II when the government wanted one day to celebrate all the branches of the military. The words armed and forces show this is a day to thank the soldiers and other service members, so the holiday now means a day to 'honor' people who serve.