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 • Jun. 2, 2021

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

From Salon • Oct. 25, 2015

We’ve been sounding the tocsin, warning that Sudan’s contested region of Abyei is highly combustible, due to unresolved issues, such as cattle grazing rights and oil revenue sharing.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2011

There’s a splashing in the shallows, a dog raising its voice in ecstasy, the sharp tocsin of the lifeguard’s whistle.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 11, 2010

It blazed deep red for a moment and then dwindled into a patch of gray smoke, but it was a signal as clear as a tocsin in the night.

From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman