Tocsin is a noun that refers to an alarm bell or signal.

Our word of the day combines the French word for ‘touch’ with the Latin word signum (SEEG noom) which means ‘bell’ or ‘signal.’ Here’s an example of tocsin in use:

We should have realized those howls in the night were a tocsin of what was to come. If we had we’d have known there were bears in the area.