DCHP-2

armoury armory DCHP-2 (September 2016)

• n. — Military

  a place where military units train; frequently in the plural armouries (see Image 1).

  Type: 3. Semantic Change — The original meaning, 'a place where arms are kept, an arsenal' (OED-3, s.v. "armoury" (3)), has changed in Canada to ‘a place where soldiers train'. Armouries were built to provide volunteer soldiers with better conditions while in training (see Canadian Encyclopedia reference). While most of the original armouries were abandoned or demolished in the 20th century, the remaining buildings are either still in use or are preserved as historical landmarks (see the 2004 and 2014 quotations).
  See also COD-2, s.v. "armoury" (2), which is marked "Cdn", Gage-1, s.v. "armory" (2), and ITP Nelson, s.v. "armoury" (2), which is marked "Canadian".