Forms: α. 4 armary, 6 armorie; β. 4–6 almarie, 5 -arye, -erye, 5–6 -ary, 5–7 -erie, 5–9 almery; γ. 6 awmery, amrye, 6–7 aumery, 8–9 awmry, aumry, -ie, (amrie); δ. 6–7 aumbrie, -bray, 6–9 aumbry (-brye, ambery, -brey), ambry. [ad. L. armārium, in med.L. also almārium and almāria (cf. Pr. armari, Sp. and It. armario, It. armadio, Pg. almario, OFr. 12th c. arma·rie, alma·rie, 13th c. almaire, aumaire, aumoire, 16th c. refash. after L., armoire) a closet, chest, place for implements, tools, etc., f. arma gear, tools, arms + -ārium depot, as in herbarium, aquarium (cf. also ARMOURY). The phonetic development was armarium, almarium (by dissimilation from following r, as in peregrinus, pelegrin, pilgrim), almary, almery, aumery (cf. palma, paulme, paume), aumry, aumbry (cf. slumere, slumber, numerus, number), ambry (cf. chaunt, chant); but aumry, without adscititious b, is retained in north. dial., in which alone the word is in living everyday use; see sense 2 a. Obs. in ordinary Eng. since c. 1600, but a familiar term in domestic and ecclesiastical antiquities, whence to some extent used as an archaism in various 16th-c. spellings. In the form almery, corruptly confused with almonry, as if a place for alms. The same word has passed into Anglo-Ind. through Pg. almario and Urdu almārī as ALMIRAH.]
1. gen. A repository or place for keeping things; a storehouse, a treasury; a cupboard (either in the recess of a wall or as a separate article of furniture): a safe; a locker, a press.
1393. Langland, P. Pl., C. XVII. 88. Auarice haþ almaries and yre-bounden cofres.
1463. in Bury Wills (1850), 29. The same keye to be leyd in an almarye … the almerye where the seid keyes shal lyn in.
1534. in Eng. Ch. Furn. (1866), 187. Item a playne awmery with ij litill chambers wythin with too lockes.
1535. Coverdale, Jer. xxxviii. 11. Vnder an almery [Wyclif celer, 1611 treasurie] he gat olde ragges & worne cloutes.
1564. in Wills & Inv. N. Counties (1835), 219. A littel paynted ambry with ij doores. Ibid. (1571), 361. Ij owld chystes ijs. vjas. … ij armoires jl.
1583. Stanyhurst, Æneis, II. (Arb.), 44. In this od hudge ambry [i.e., the Trojan horse] they ramd a number of hardye Tough knights.
1591. Percivall, Span. Dict., Alhazéna, a hole in a wal to set things in, an Ambrie … Almário, an armorie, an ambrie, Armarium.
18[?]. Wordsworth, in Myers, Life (1881), 3. I possess … an almery, made in 1525, at the expense of a William Wordsworth.
1835. Beckford, Recoll., 48. A press or ambery elaborately carved.
1842. Gresley, Forest of Ard., 66. An almery or arched recess of compact brickwork, so constructed as to be impervious to fire.
1870. Morris, Jason, VIII. 444. A little aumbrye, with a door o’er-gilt.
b. Sometimes applied to a compartment of a cupboard, etc.; a ‘pigeon hole.’
c. 1530. Furn. Hen. VIII., in Dom. Arch., III. 135. A cupborde with ij smale ambries in yt.
1542. Udall, Erasm. Apoph. (1564), 5. A cupbourd full of almeries of joigners werke.
1570. Dee, Math. Præf., 40. The Brasen Vessels, which in Theatres, are placed by Mathematicall order, in ambries, vnder the steppes.
1613. Purchas, Pilgr., I. xviii. 97. This Moloch had seuen Roomes, Chambers, or Ambries therein.
† c. fig. = ‘repository, treasury.’ Obs.
1477. Earl Rivers (Caxton), Dictes, 175. The tunge is the dore of the almerye of sapience.
1628. Le Grys, trans. Barclay’s Argenis, 148. In what Chest or Almerie of heaven … that former faculty be stored up.
2. spec. The following are the chief uses: a. A place for keeping victuals; variously applied to a store-closet, pantry, or cupboard in a pantry; a wall-press; a dresser; a meat-safe, as in ‘ambry of hair,’ i.e., with sides of hair-cloth. arch. & dial.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVIII. cxii. (1495), 853. Noo token of meete founde in the almerye.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., Almery of mete kepynge, or a saue for mete, Cibutum.
1553. Midl. Counties Hist. Collec., I. 232. Item, an ambrey of heare xijd.
a. 1564. Becon, Govern. Virtue, Wks. 1843, 468. Cursed shall thine almary be and thy store.
1580. Tusser, Husb., lxxv. ii. Some slouens from sleeping no sooner get vp, But hand is in aumbrie, and nose in the cup.
1590. Three Lords & Ladies, in Hazl., Dods., VI. 412. Like two mice in an ambery, that eat up all the meat.
1622. Dekker, Virg. Martir, II. i. 37. Full of the same meat out of my ambrey.
1655. Moufet & Bennet, Health’s Improv. (1746), 394. He baited at every Village … and swept clean the Ambery in every Inn.
1674. Ray, N. Countr. Words, 3. An Aumbry or Ambry or Aumery, A pantry or Cupboard to set victuals in.
1693. W. Robertson, Phraseol. Gen., 82. An Ambry or Cupboards-head, Abacus, armorium.
1733. Ramsay, Tea-t. Misc. (ed. 9), II. 181. An ark, an ambry, and a ladle.
1800. A. Carlyle, Autobiogr., 440. Rummaging about in the awmry, however, I found at last about two pounds weight of cold roast veal.
1859. Mrs. Gaskell, Round the Sofa, II. 98. You could see yourself in the pewter plates and the polished oaken awmry, or dresser, of the state kitchen.
1868. G. Macdonald, Rob. Falc., I. 203. A vaguest dream-vision of her having escaped from his grandmother’s aumrie (store-closet) … crossed his mind.
b. In a church: A cupboard, locker, or closed recess in the wall, for books, sacramental vessels, vestments, etc. arch.
1440. in Eng. Ch. Furn. (1866), 183. Item an almerie to kepe his vestmentes and bookes in.
1555. Fardle of Facions, II. xii. 301. Upon the right hande of the highe aulter, that ther should be an almorie, either cutte into the walle, or framed vpon it: in the whiche thei would haue the Sacrament of the Lordes bodye, the holy oyle for the sicke, and the Chrismatorie, alwaie to be locked.
1593. Rites Mon. Ch. Durh. (1842), 2. Three or four amryes in the wall pertaininge to some of the said altars.
1870. F. Wilson, Ch. of Lindisf., 83. A lancet-arched aumbry or locker.
† c. A place for books; library; archives. Obs.
1382. Wyclif, Ezra iv. 15. Thou shall finde write in armaries [1388 cronyelis]. Ibid., 2 Macc. ii. 13. These same thingis weren born in discripciouns, and the almeries of Neemye.
1483. Caxton, Gold. Leg., 240/3. A fisshar cast his hoke … and drewe up the bookes … without ony wetyng, lyke as they had ben kepte dylygently in an almarye.
1775. Ash, Almaria, The archives of a church.
† d. A hutch for live-stock. Obs.
1572–3. Durh. Reg. Will of Eliz. Somner. To Bessye Somer an almerie for keping of conyes.
¶ Corruptly for ALMONRY; (Almry or Ambry Close, Westminster, was originally Almonry Close.)
1593. Desc. Rites & Cust. Durh. (1842), 77. Certayne poore children, called the children of the almery, which was brought upp in learninge and mantayned with the almose of the Howse, havinge dyett in a lofte on the north side of the Abbey gates.
1597. J. Payne, Royal Exch., 11. Let your doores and portalls in lyfe tyme, and not the churche porche after death be your almeries.
1603. Stow, Surv. (1842), 176/2. Called the Elemosinary, or Almonry, now corruptly the Ambry, for that the alms of the abbey were there distributed to the poor.
1693. W. Robertson, Phraseol. Gen., 185. An Aumbry or almonry, where the Almoner lives; Eleemosynarium.
1700. Leslie, Right of Tithes. They had amberies for the daily relief of the poor.
1773. Gentlem. Mag., XLIII. 480. The bell to call the poor people to the adjacent almery.
fig. Beneficence, bounty.
a. 1638. Mede, Wks., I. xxiii. 88. Judge then … what account they make of God’s Ambre.
