tocsin

/ˈtɒksɪn/

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French toquesain (modern tocsin), from Old Occitan tocasenh, from tocar (“strike, touch”) + senh (“bell”).

tocsin means an alarm or other signal sounded by a bell or bells, originally especially with reference to France. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.

Why this word is great

TOCSIN — [Noun] A signal of alarm sounded by a bell, or the bell itself used to sound such an alarm. From Middle French 'tocsin', from Old French 'toquesain', from Old Occitan 'tocasenh', from 'tocar' ("to strike, to touch") + 'senh' ("bell, sign"). Unlike a siren, with its modern, oscillating wail, or an alert, a general and often silent state of vigilance, the tocsin is the specific, ancient voice of cast metal swung into clamor. It is the cold iron shuddering in a church tower above a sleeping village, the cracked bronze tongue beating against a gathering storm, and the leaden, singular note that cuts through fog to warn of a rising tide—a sound that divides time into the moment before, and the irrevocable moment after.

noun

An alarm or other signal sounded by a bell or bells, originally especially with reference to France.“At half-past one, on the sounding of the tocsin (or bell of the public-house) about fifteen persons were collected, when the Rev. J. Bromley was called to the chair.”
A bell used to sound an alarm.