arnis

A1R1N1I1S1

noun

Traditional Philippine stickfighting, a martial art.

Similar
eskrimakali
OriginTagalog arnis ← Spanish arnés →
UncommonScrabble 5
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Meanings

arnis1

nounarnis (countable and uncountable, plural arnises)

plural arnises

  1. uncountableTraditional Philippine stickfighting, a martial art.
  2. countableA stick made of rattan, bahi, yantok, yakal or kamagong, used in Philippine stickfighting.

arnis2

noun
  1. pluralplural of arni

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
eskrimakali
Also see
eskrimakali

Origin

  1. Spanisharnés
  2. Tagalogarnis
  3. Englisharnis

From Tagalog arnis, from Spanish arnés in the archaic sense of “a chivalric set of weapons or armor” (compare English harness).

More words from Tagalog, Spanish

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

rainssiRNAsarinNasirnasrinarisRisan
Cite this entry
APA

arnis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arnis

MLA

“arnis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arnis. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “arnis,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arnis.

Source: arnis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.