tocsin

American  

[tok-sin] / ˈtɒk sɪn /

noun

1. a signal, especially of alarm, sounded on a bell or bells.

2. a bell used to sound an alarm.

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tocsin British  

/ ˈtɒksɪn /

noun

1. an alarm or warning signal, esp one sounded on a bell

2. an alarm bell

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Etymology

Origin of tocsin

First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French, from Provençal tocasenh, literally, “(it) strikes (the) bell,” equivalent to toca, 3rd-person singular present of tocar “to strike, touch ” + senh “bell, sign ”

Example Sentences

Still, few poems are more famous than “The Raven” with its dolorous tocsin, “Nevermore.”

From Washington Post

All over Europe and the United States, political scientists were sounding the tocsin for any balanced, values-based politics.

From Salon

We have grabbed onto that great tocsin of American freedom and will not surrender it -- even if too many millions of white Americans have discarded it for cheaply made "MAGA" hats.

From Salon

These statistics should prompt all rationalists to sound the proverbial tocsin with unrelenting fury.

From Salon

Throughout the 1980s and ’90s, the public health and scientific communities sounded their tocsins against a background of regulatory and political crickets.

From Salon