alarm
a-larm / ə-lärm
noun 1. a sudden feeling of fear or danger; apprehension We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties. James Madison 1751-1836 2. something that alerts or warns of approaching danger We live in the midst of alarms; anxiety beclouds the future; we expect some new disaster with each newspaper we read. Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865 3. a device used to warn of danger, awaken, or alert to something Morning comes whether you set the alarm or not. Ursula K. Le Guin. 1929 - 2018 4. (archaic) a call to arms He said to his friend, "If the British march By land or sea from the town to-night, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch Of the North Church tower as a signal light, One, if by land, and two, if by sea; And I on the opposite shore will be, Ready to ride and spread the alarm Through every Middlesex village and farm, For the country folk to be up and to arm. From “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1807 - 1882 verb 1. to worry or frighten Evils in the journey of life are like the hills which alarm travelers upon their road; they both appear great at a distance, but when we approach them we find that they are far less insurmountable than we had conceived. Charles Caleb Colton, 1780 – 1832 2. to provide with a warning; to alert Even the rustling of leaves will alarm the hare. Latin Proverb 3. to equip or protect with a device that alerts or warns The building doors were alarmed with intrusion alarms, and all rooms were equipped with motion detectors. www.etec.energy.gov/Library/Cleanup_and_Characterization/Soil/HSA/Volume VI HSA-6.pdf, accessed August 9, 2023