alarum

Old battle summons

Alarum is an archaic spelling of alarm, now used chiefly as a stage direction in Elizabethan drama to indicate sounds of battle—trumpets, drums, shouts: Alarum. Enter soldiers fighting.

The word appears frequently in Shakespeare.

Outside theatrical contexts, alarum sounds deliberately old-fashioned or mock-dramatic: Sound the alarum!

archaic

tocsin

Bell rung as warning

bellHollow resonating instrument
trumpetValved brass wind instrument
clarionShrill medieval war trumpet

knell · herald · battlecry · summons · watchword · signal · sentry · sentinel · rampart · fortress

sound

bell

Hollow resonating instrument

clangLoud metallic sound
tollFee for passage
pealResonant ringing burst

chime · ringing · blare · clamor · din · resounding · reverberation · fanfare · blast · thundering

warning

danger

Exposure to harm

threatIndication of potential harm
perilSerious threat of harm
hazardSource of potential harm

omen · forewarning · portent · foreboding · premonition · impending · dire · menace · dread · calamity

urgency

haste

Excessive quickness

rallyGathering for a cause
musterAssemble for inspection
rouseStir to wakefulness

scramble · mobilize · hasten · precipitate · sudden · swift · immediate · pressing · desperate · flight

alarum

tocsin

bell

danger

haste

alarum

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