light arm
- noun
- /laɪt ɑrm/
- Specialized
:
arma ligera
- (c) social and history education (social and historic developments in Hong Kong after the Opium War and Hong Kong customs and culture); (d) military training (skill in using light arms, in self-defense, and in dealing with riots); and (e) language training (learning English and Cantonese conversation skills).
Examples
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They carried only light arms because the compound was not heavily defended.
Blog text (26) -
In conflict zones, soldiers often rely on light arms for mobility and quick operation.
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The security team decided to equip themselves with light arms to ensure they could respond swiftly to any threats.
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During the training exercise, the recruits practiced shooting with various types of light arms.
Synonyms
20
4.9
A gun like a handgun or rifle that a person can carry
Antonyms
- Specialized
15
5.2
A large gun like artillery or a heavy machine gun that soldiers move to support troops in war
How Heavy
- Specialized
184
6.9
- NSFW
101
3.5
525
3.2
- Specialized
268
2.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a firearm designed to be carried and operated by an individual' is directly derivable from combining 'light' (not heavy, portable) with 'arm' (weapon). This is a straightforward adjective + noun composition that is cross-linguistically common (cf. 'light weapons'/'small arms'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
The noun light arm comes from the idea of a weapon one person can carry. The word light means 'not heavy' and arm is an old word for 'weapon', so light arms are small guns like rifles or pistols that a single person can carry and use, unlike big weapons that need a crew.