oxter

O1X8T1E1R1
/ˈɒkstə(ɹ)/

noun

The armpit.

Similar
armpitaxillaunderarmarmhole
OriginMiddle English *oxtere ← Old English ōxta ← Proto-West Germanic *ahslu →
First used 15th c.Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounoxter (plural oxters)

plural oxters

  1. IrelandNorthern EnglandScotlandThe armpit.First known use 15th c.

    ‘It's a small beast,’ he said. ‘I could carry it under my oxter.’

    1955, Robin Jenkins, The Cone-Gatherers, Canongate, published 2012, page 90
    1 more example

    And begob there he was passing the door with his books under his oxter and the wife beside him and Corny Kelleher with his wall eye looking in as they went past, […]

    Episode 12: The Cyclops
verboxter (third-person singular simple present oxters, present participle oxtering, simple past and past participle oxtered)

present singular third person oxters · participle present oxtering · participle past oxtered · past oxtered

  1. transitiveTo hug with the arms, or support by taking the arm of.

    They oxter him into the building.

    2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 412

    Synonyms: armpit, axilla, underarm, armhole

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo hug with the arms, or support by taking the arm of.

Similar
armpitaxillaunderarmarmhole
Also see
armholecwtchembrace

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱs-“axis, axle”
  2. Proto-Germanic*ahslō“joint of the shoulder”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*ahslu“shoulder”
  4. Old Englishōxta
  5. Middle English*oxtere
  6. Englishoxter

Apparently from Middle English *oxtere, *oxte, from Old English ōxta, ōhsta, related to Old English ōxn (“armpit”), Old English eax (“axis, axle”), and eaxl (“shoulder”), from Proto-West Germanic *ahslu (“shoulder”), from Proto-Germanic *ahslō (“joint of the shoulder”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- (“axis, axle”). See also axis and axon.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

extroretox
Cite this entry
APA

oxter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxter

MLA

“oxter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxter. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oxter,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxter.

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