armarsi

Armarsi is an Italian pronominal verb meaning to arm oneself. It covers both the literal sense of taking up weapons and the figurative sense of equipping oneself with the means to face a situation. In practice, armarsi is used with different objects: one can armarsi di armi or di strumenti (to equip oneself with tools), or armarsi di pazienza, di coraggio, di prove (to arm oneself with patience, courage, or evidence). The expression armarsi di is common in everyday language as well as in historical or political contexts.

Etymology and relation to other terms: armarsi derives from arma, meaning weapon, which comes from Latin arma. The verb is formed as a reflexive construction, typical of many Romance verbs, and shares semantics with other phrases that denote preparation by provisioning oneself with required resources.

Grammar and usage: Armarsi is conjugated as a reflexive verb and uses essere in compound tenses. Present indicative forms are: mi armo, ti armi, si arma, ci armiamo, vi armate, si armano. The past participle agrees with the subject in compound tenses, for example: mi sono armato/armata, ci siamo armati/armate, il paese si è armato di nuove difese. The imperative forms include arma! (singular, informal), armi! (you singular informal, less common), arma-ti! (less standard), and the inclusive first-person plural armiamoci, with voi armatevi as the second-person plural.

See also: related phrases include armarsi di pazienza, armarsi di prove, and synonyms such as munirsi, equipaggiarsi, or prepararsi. The expression remains common in discussions of defense, strategy, or personal conduct, and can appear in historical, political, or literary contexts.