English

Armchair from the Pearson Scott Foresman collection

Noun

armchair ‎(plural armchairs)

1. A chair with supports for the arms or elbows.
   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 12, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs, […], and all these articles […] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished.

   • 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

Hypernyms

• chair
• furniture

Coordinate terms

• couch
• sofa

Meronyms

• arm

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) Unqualified or uninformed but yet giving 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.‎

Translations

Derived terms

• armchair critic
• armchair general
• armchair hawk
• armchair strategist
• armchair quarterback