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akimbo (uh-KIM-boh) - adj. or adv., (of limbs) set in a bent position, esp. standing with hand on hip and elbow bent outward.
As an adjective, it is always post-positive, coming after the noun: "she stood with arms akimbo," thus:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
There's another minor adverbial sense from martial arts, of wielding a weapon in either hand, such as two knives or two pistols. While this looks like it might be a borrowing from Japanese or a Native American language, it's actually pretty old: as the adverbial phrase (thus coming after what it modifies) in kenebowe, it dates to Middle English, attested from around 1400. From whence this is unclear, but perhaps originally it was in keen bow, at a sharp angle, or possibly from unattested Norse or Old French sources.
---L.
As an adjective, it is always post-positive, coming after the noun: "she stood with arms akimbo," thus:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
There's another minor adverbial sense from martial arts, of wielding a weapon in either hand, such as two knives or two pistols. While this looks like it might be a borrowing from Japanese or a Native American language, it's actually pretty old: as the adverbial phrase (thus coming after what it modifies) in kenebowe, it dates to Middle English, attested from around 1400. From whence this is unclear, but perhaps originally it was in keen bow, at a sharp angle, or possibly from unattested Norse or Old French sources.
---L.
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