alarm - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English alarme, alarom, borrowed from Middle French alarme, itself from Old Italian all'arme! (“to arms!, to the weapons!”), ultimately from Latin arma (“arms, weapons”).

alarm (countable and uncountable, plural alarms)

  1. (countable) A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
  2. (countable) Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger; a warning sound to arouse attention; a warning of danger.
    • 1859, Charles Dickens, The Haunted House:
      She went about the house in a state of real terror, and yet lied monstrously and wilfully, and invented many of the alarms she spread, and made many of the sounds we heard.
  3. (countable) A device intended to warn or give notice of approaching danger.
    The fire alarm is located high on the wall to prevent tampering.
  4. (countable) A sudden attack; a disturbance.
  5. (countable) Sudden surprise with fear or terror caused by the apprehension of danger; a feeling of heightened alertness to risk.
    His actions caused alarm among all the other people in the store, who hurried to leave.
  6. (countable)A mechanical device for awaking people or rousing their attention.
    The clock radio is a friendlier version of the cold alarm by the bedside.
  7. (countable) An instance of an alarm ringing, beeping or clanging, to give a noise signal at a certain time.
    Last night's alarm turned out to be nothing, but it was terrifying at the time.

summons to arms

notice of approaching danger

sudden surprise with fear or terror

mechanical contrivance for awaking

instance of an alarm ringing or clanging

alarm (third-person singular simple present alarms, present participle alarming, simple past and past participle alarmed)

  1. (transitive) To call to arms for defense.
  2. (transitive) To give (someone) notice of approaching danger or necessary action; to rouse to vigilance; to put on the alert.
    The sudden drop in temperature should alarm you into taking precautions.
    Her illness started to alarm the doctors, who ordered more tests.
    • 1838, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess:
      When the carriage drew up in the grass-grown court yard before the hall-door, two lazy-looking men, whose appearance well accorded with that of the place which they tenanted, alarmed by the obstreperous barking of a great chained dog, ran out from some half-ruinous out-houses, and took charge of the horses; […]
  3. (transitive, of a device) To produce a warning of approaching danger or necessary action; to emit a signal intended to rouse a recipient to vigilance or put them on the alert.
    • 1985 March 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.2 Environmental Factors”, in Aircraft Accident Report: United Airlines Flight 663, Boeing 727-222, N7647U, Denver, Colorado, May 31, 1984‎[1], page 39:
      The tower cab supervisor and various pilots stated that the LLWAS system frequently alarms because of the thunderstorm activity present, and that airspeed losses are common as a result of convective wind shear.
  4. (transitive) To surprise with apprehension of danger; to fill with anxiety in regard to threatening evil; to excite with sudden fear.
    The loud bang in the hallway seemed to alarm everyone in the building.
  5. (transitive) To keep in excitement; to disturb.

to call to arms

to surprise with apprehension of danger

to keep in excitement; to disturb

From French alarme (“alarm”).

alárm m (plural alárme, definite alármi, definite plural alármet)

  1. (military) alarm
    Synonym: kushtrim
  2. (figurative) anxiety
    Synonym: shqetësim

Borrowed from English alarm.

alarm m (plural alarmow)

  1. alarm

First attested in the 19th century.[1]

alarm m inan

  1. alarm
  1. ^ Rejzek, Jiří (2015), “alarm”, in Český etymologický slovník [Czech Etymological Dictionary] (in Czech), 3rd (revised and expanded) edition, Praha: LEDA, →ISBN, page 52

alarm c (singular definite alarmen, plural indefinite alarmer)

  1. alarm

Ultimately from Italian all' arme (“to arms”), allarme; compare also French alarme. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

alarm n (plural alarmen, diminutive alarmpje n)

  1. alarm

Internationalism, borrowed from Dutch alarm.

alarm (plural **alarm-alarm)

  1. alarm
    Synonyms: beker, weker

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Italian a

Kashubian alarm

Internationalism; possibly borrowed from Polish alarm or German Alarm. Ultimately from Italian allarme (“to arms”). Doublet of larm. Compare Slovincian alarm.

alarm m inan

  1. alarm (device used to alarm people)
    Synonym: alert
  2. alarm (sound used to alarm people)
    Synonym: alert
  3. alarm (state of being alerted)

From Italian all' arme (“to arms”) and allarme, via French alarme.

alarm m (definite singular alarmen, indefinite plural alarmer, definite plural alarmene)

  1. an alarm

From Italian all' arme (“to arms”) and allarme, via French alarme.

alarm m (definite singular alarmen, indefinite plural alarmar, definite plural alarmane)

  1. an alarm

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Italian a

Polish alarm

Borrowed from French alarme or German Alarm,[1] from Italian allarm.[2] First attested in 1644–1660.[3] Compare Kashubian alarm and Slovincian alarm.

alarm m inan

  1. alarm (device used to alarm people)
    Synonym: alert
  2. alarm (sound used to alarm people)
    Synonym: alert
  3. alarm (state of being alerted)
    Hypernym: alert
  4. alarm (fear, apprehension)
    Hypernym: alert

Collocations

  1. ^ Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000), “alarm”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
  2. ^ Brückner, Aleksander (1927), “alarm”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna
  3. ^ Teresa Sokołowska (14.04.2022), “ALARM”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]

Borrowed from French alarme.

àlarm m inan (Cyrillic spelling а̀ларм, relational adjective àlarmnī)

  1. alarm

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Italian a

Slovincian alarm

Borrowed from German Alarm. Compare Kashubian alarm and Polish alarm.

alarm m inan (related adjective alarmôwy)

  1. alarm

alarm n

  1. an alarm (warning or emergency signal, and a device that emits such a signal)
  2. alarm (state of alarm)

From French alarme. Doublet of arma.

alarm (definite accusative alarmı, plural alarmlar)

  1. alarm
    Tehlike anında alarmı beklemeden sığınağa girmeliyiz.
    In case of danger, we must enter the shelter without waiting for the alarm.
  2. alarm clock
    Synonym: çalar saat
    Alarmım zamanında çalmadı.
    My alarm clock didn't ring on time.