Etymology

tocsin

toc·sin
T1O1C3S1I1N1

Today it means: An alarm or other signal sounded by a bell or bells, originally especially with reference to France. Full definition →

Old French toquesain ← Old Occitan tocasenh
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The story

  1. Old Occitan · derived fromtocasenh
  2. Old French · derived fromtoquesain
  3. English todaytocsin

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.