armchair

English

Etymology

• arm +‎ chair

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˌɑː(ɹ)mˈtʃeə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

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Noun

armchair (plural armchairs)

1. A chair with supports for the arms or elbows.
   • 1928: A. A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

     ...when he suddenly saw Piglet sitting in his best armchair he could only stand there rubbing his head and wondering whose house he was in.

Translations

a chair with supports for the arms or elbows

Armenian: բազկաթոռ (hy) (bazkat’oṙ) Basque: besaulki (eu) Bulgarian: кресло (bg) Croatian: naslònjāč (hr) m., fotèlja (hr) f. Czech: křeslo (cs) n. Danish: lænestol (da) c. Finnish: nojatuoli (fi) French: fauteuil (fr) German: Armsessel m., Fauteuil m., Polstersessel m., Polsterstuhl m., Sessel m. Greek: πολυθρόνα (el) (poliθróna) f. Hebrew: כורסה (he) (kursá) f. Hungarian: karszék (hu), karosszék (hu), fotel (hu) Ido: berjero (io) Interlingua: confortabile (ia) Italian: poltrona (it) f.

Korean: 팔걸이의자 palgeori uija Macedonian: фотелја (mk) (fotélja) f. Maltese: pultruna (mt) f. Norwegian: lenestol (no) m. Polish: fotel (pl) m. Portuguese: poltrona (pt) Romanian: fotoliu (ro) n. Russian: кресло (ru) (kréslo) n. Scottish Gaelic: cathair mhòr f., cathair ghàirdeanach, cathair-uilne f., suidheachan mòr m. Serbian: naslonjača f. Spanish: sillón (es) m. Swedish: fåtölj (sv) c. Turkish: koltuk (tr)

See also

• arm
• chair
• couch
• furniture

Adjective

armchair (comparative more armchair, superlative most armchair)

1. (figuratively) Remote from actual involvement, including a person retired from previously active involvement.

   These days I'm an armchair detective.

2. (figuratively) An unqualified or uninformed person who gives advice, especially on technical issues, such as law, architecture, medicine, military theory, or sports.

   He's just an armchair lawyer who thinks he knows a lot about the law because he reads a legal blog on the internet.

   After the American football game, the armchair quarterbacks talked about what they would have done differently to win, if they had been star athletes instead of out-of-shape old men.

See also

• armchair general
• armchair hawk