Alarm Comes From the Cry To Arms
An alarm is a warning of danger. The word comes from the Italian call all'arme, meaning to arms, shouted when an attack began.
An alarm is a warning of danger, or the device that gives it. The word is a frozen shout: Italian *all'arme* meant to arms, the cry raised when an enemy appeared, and the phrase became a single English noun. *Alarum*, the older English form, still appears in stage directions in Shakespeare, where it means a call to battle.
- A warning device. *A smoke alarm.*
- Fear or anxiety. *A note of alarm.*
- To frighten. *Do not be alarmed.*
- Alarm clock — a waking device. *Set the alarm clock.*
- False alarm — a warning with no cause. *It was a false alarm.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | alarm | A burglar alarm. |
| Verb | alarm | It alarmed me. |
| Adjective | alarming | An alarming figure. |
| Adjective | alarmed | Deeply alarmed. |
| Archaic | alarum | Alarums and excursions. |
- The alarm went off at six.The device.
- There is no cause for alarm.The emotion.
- Alarums and excursions.A Shakespearean stage direction.
Battle cries that became words
- Alarm — from all'arme, to arms
- Slogan — from a Gaelic war cry
- Havoc — a signal to begin plundering
- Rally — to regroup, from a French military term
- Forlorn hope — from Dutch for a lost troop, the first wave of an assault
Old French *alarme*, from Italian *all'arme*, to arms. English recorded it in the 1300s, first as a call and then as any warning.
What does alarums mean in Shakespeare?
It is a stage direction for the sounds of battle — trumpets and shouting offstage. Alarum is an older form of alarm.
Why is a clock called an alarm clock?
Because it gives a warning signal. The word had already generalised from danger to any alert.