Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective, adverb
- with hand on hip and elbow bent outward: to stand with arms akimbo.
adjective, adverb
- arms akimbo or with arms akimbo with hands on hips and elbows projecting outwards
c.1400, in kenebowe, of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle English phrase in keen bow “at a sharp angle,” or from a Scandinavian word akin to Icelandic kengboginn “bow-bent,” but this seems not to have been used in this exact sense. Many languages use a teapot metaphor for this, such as French faire le pot a deux anses “to play the pot with two handles.”