Table of Contents
The word for today is…
alarm (noun, verb):
noun
1 usually alarum - archaic : a call to arms
2: a signal (such as a loud noise or flashing light) that warns or alerts, also : a device that signals
3: sudden sharp apprehension and fear resulting from the perception of imminent danger
4: a warning notice
verb
1: to strike with fear
2: disturb, excite
3: to give warning to
4: to equip with an alarm
Source : Merriam -Webster
Etymology : Today we usually think of an alarm as a loud noise that awakens us or warns us of danger. Its first use, however, was in Italy as a call to arms to soldiers. The Italian phrase all’arme! means literally “to arms” or “to your weapons.” The call was borrowed into other languages and came to be shortened to alarme in early French and Middle English. The word also came to be used as the name for the cry, then for any warning, and then to any device used to sound a warning, such as a bell or a gun. Since an alarm can cause fright or worry, such feelings also came to be known as alarm. By the 17th century, the word was used as a verb, meaning “to warn of danger” and then “to frighten.”
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