alarm

English

Alternative forms

• alarum

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈlɑːm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈlɑɹm/
• Hyphenation: alarm

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)m

Noun

alarm (countable and uncountable, plural alarms)

1. A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
   • c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     Arming to answer in a night alarm.

2. Any sound or information intended to give notice of approaching danger; a warning sound to arouse attention; a warning of danger.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Joel 2:1:

     Sound an alarm in my holy mountain.

   • 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. A sudden attack; disturbance.
   • 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Lord Marshal, command our officers-at-arms
     Be ready to direct these home alarms.

   • 1725, Homer, “Book I”, in [Elijah Fenton], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. , volume I, London: Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, page III:

     Is it then true, as distant rumours run,
     that crowds of rivals for thy mother's charms
     thy Palace fill with insults and alarms?

4. Sudden surprise with fear or terror excited by apprehension of danger; in the military use, commonly, sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise.
   • 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 1, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volumes (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

     Alarm and resentment spread through the camp.

5. A mechanical device for awaking people, or rousing their attention.

   The clock radio is a friendlier version of the cold alarm by the bedside.

6. An instance of an alarm ringing, beeping or clanging, to give a noise signal at a certain time.

   You should set the alarm on your watch to go off at seven o'clock.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• tocsin

Verb

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

(Can we add an example for this sense?)

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.
   • 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) To surprise with apprehension of danger; to fill with anxiety in regard to threatening evil; to excite with sudden fear.
4. (transitive) To keep in excitement; to disturb.

Derived terms

Translations

References

• “alarm”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• LRAAM, Lamar, Marla, malar, marla, ramal

Albanian

Etymology

From French alarme (“alarm”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /alaɾm/

Noun

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

1. (army) alarm

   Synonym: kushtrim

2. (figurative) anxiety

   Synonym: shqetësim

Declension

Derived terms

• alarmim m (gerund)
• alarmoj (active)
• alarmohem (passive)
• alarmonjës
• alarmuar (participle)
• alarmues m
• alarmuese f

Further reading

• Oda Buchholz, Wilfried Fiedler, Gerda Uhlisch (2000) Langenscheidt Handwörterbuch Albanisch, Langenscheidt Verlag, →ISBN, page 32 (noun alárm/alarm)
• m. noun alárm/alarm (engl. alarm) • Fjalor Shqip (Albanian Dictionary)

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

alarm m inan

1. alarm

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

• alarm in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• alarm in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• alarm in Akademický slovník cizích slov, 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz

Danish

Noun

alarm c (singular definite alarmen, plural indefinite alarmer)

1. alarm

Declension

Derived terms

• brandalarm

Further reading

• “alarm” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aːˈlɑrm/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: alarm
• Rhymes: -ɑrm

Noun

alarm n (plural alarmen, diminutive alarmpje n)

1. alarm

Derived terms

Related terms

• alarmeren

Descendants

• Negerhollands: allarm, alarm
• → Indonesian: alarm

Anagrams

• Almar

Indonesian

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:

alarm

Wikipedia ^id

Etymology

Internationalism, borrowed from Dutch alarm.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈalarm/,
• Hyphenation: alarm
• Rhymes: -m

Noun

alarm (plural alarm-alarm, first-person possessive alarmku, second-person possessive alarmmu, third-person possessive alarmnya)

1. alarm

Synonyms

• penggera (Standard Malay)
• beker
• weker

Further reading

• “alarm” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

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

Noun

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

1. an alarm

Derived terms

References

• “alarm” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

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

Noun

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

1. an alarm

Derived terms

References

• “alarm” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

alarm

Wikipedia ^pl

Etymology

Borrowed from French alarme or German Alarm, from Italian all'arme (“to arms”). First attested in 1644–1660.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.larm/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alarm
• Syllabification: a‧larm

Noun

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

Declension

Derived terms

Collocations

References

Further reading

• alarm in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• alarm in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “allarm”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “alarm”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “alarm”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 21

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

From French alarme.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ǎlarm/
• Hyphenation: a‧larm

Noun

àlarm m (Cyrillic spelling а̀ларм)

1. alarm

Declension

Derived terms

References

• “alarm” in Hrvatski jezični portal

Swedish

Noun

alarm n

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

Declension

See also

• uppståndelse (“stir, commotion”)
• väckarklocka (“alarm clock”)

References

• alarm in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• alarm in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• alarm in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Turkish

Etymology

From French alarme.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.laɾm/
• Hyphenation: a‧larm

Noun

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.

Declension