A friend of mine started worrying himself about the derivation of the term
"arms" as part of the name for apartment houses in the US, particularly in
the 20s thru 50s, and particularly if there was some pretensiousness
involved. The OED is silent oin the subject, so my friend queried them.
Here's the answer:
>Thank you for your enquiry to Ask Oxford.
>
> The short answer to your question is 'I do not
> know'. This is a British site, and we do not
> have detailed knowledge of naming practices
> in North America.
>
> All I can say is that arms in the sense 'heraldic
> insignia or devices' frequently forms part of the
> name of British public houses: two local ones
> here are the Harcourt Arms (where the pub sign
> shows the arms of a prominent local family) and
> the Gardeners' Arms (where the sign shows the
> arms of the Gardeners' Company). If apartments
> are built on the site of such an establishment,
> the name may be taken over for the new building,
> I suppose. That is a matter to pursue with the
> local historical society.
>
> Margot Charlton
>Ask Oxford
Two questions: Do Brits and antipodeans name their multiple dwellings "____
Arms," and are there other theories (or can you invent them) as to the
practice?
These things are like splinters, impossible to ignore. I recently fixated
on the US euphemism "restroom" (OED 1899), which is certainly better than
"lounge" (obsolete? Not in OED) or "powder-room" (OED 1941, still in use;
also the phrase "excuse me, I have to powder my nose," which has always
struck me as a major confusion about anatomy), instead of the more
straightforward "bathroom" (oops, another euphemism) or "lavatory" (oops)
or "toilet" (oops) or "w.c." (oops) or "loo" (oops) or in some places
"outhouse" (oops). One would think that with the anglophone habit of
elevating meaning by borrowing we would at least have "merdatorium," but
apparently nobody wants to dirty his/her hands.
Mark
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