alarm

alarm [-s] n

OFr alarme, to the arms; NW says: Welsh alarm, a great shout, al very, most, + garm, outcry.

  1. Anxiety; dread; panic; foreboding of danger.
  2. Clamor; din; outcry; warning sound; message of approaching hostility; [fig.] insect noises.
  3. Noise; buzzing sound; notice of approach; [fig.] surprise; cause of apprehension.
  4. Phrase. “Legions of Alarm”: armed legions; troops of soldiers; hunters bearing arms; [fig.] extreme danger; deadly peril.

alarm [-s] v

see alarm, n.

  1. Notify of danger; sound a warning to; inform of potential harm.
  2. Frighten; disturb; strike with fear.
  3. Disturb; upset; unsettle; arouse; cause apprehension. [The syntactic and lexical ambiguities of this occurrence of “Alarm” are a challenge to define.]