akimbo adv., adj.

"with the hands on the hips and the elbows bent outward at sharp angles," c. 1400, in kenebowe, of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle English phrase in keen bow "at a sharp angle" (with keen in its Middle English sense of "sharp" + bow "arch"), or from a Scandinavian word akin to Icelandic kengboginn "bow-bent," but this seems not to have been used in this exact sense. Middle English Compendium compares Old French chane/kane/quenne "can, pot, jug." Many languages use a teapot metaphor for this, such as Modern French faire le pot a deux anses "to play the pot with two handles."