alarm
alarm [-s] n
OFr alarme, to the arms; NW says: Welsh alarm, a great shout, al very, most, + garm, outcry.
- Anxiety; dread; panic; foreboding of danger.
- Clamor; din; outcry; warning sound; message of approaching hostility; [fig.] insect noises.
- Noise; buzzing sound; notice of approach; [fig.] surprise; cause of apprehension.
- Phrase. “Legions of Alarm”: armed legions; troops of soldiers; hunters bearing arms; [fig.] extreme danger; deadly peril.
alarm [-s] v
see alarm, n.
- Notify of danger; sound a warning to; inform of potential harm.
- Frighten; disturb; strike with fear.
- Disturb; upset; unsettle; arouse; cause apprehension. [The syntactic and lexical ambiguities of this occurrence of “Alarm” are a challenge to define.]