English
alarm
Alarm comes from Middle French alarme, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-1‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600alarme1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alarme1
- Englishearliest quotation 1595alarm1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English alarm
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “Lord Marshal, command our officers-at-arms Be ready to direct…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂er-Wiktionary, English alarm‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600alarmeWiktionary, English alarm
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500alarmeWiktionary, English alarm
- Englishearliest quotation 1595alarmWiktionary, English alarm. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1595, The Life and Death of King Richard the Second: “Lord Marshal, command our officers-at-arms Be ready to direct…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- ‘to fit, to fix, to put together, to slot’
order, reason, ready, rate, art, article, artist, army, ratio, ordinary, arm, coordination, coordinate, harmony, subordinate, ordination, arthritis, armor, ornament, anarchy, arithmetic, ornate, articulate, inertia, inert, aristocratic, artisan, adorn, ordinate, harmonic, ordinator, harmonious, articulation, rta, armament, rime, ordain, ordinal, ordo, artifice, 79 more
Today it means
noun A summons to arms, as on the approach of an enemy.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “alarm”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- / alarm