Alerting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Giving advance warning or notice of potential danger or an important event ; being attentive and prepared to react quickly
2. The act of notifying someone to be cautious or aware of a situation ; maintaining vigilance and readiness for action
3. Providing a signal or message to indicate urgency or a critical issue ; staying alert and responsive to changes or threats

Etymology: The verb "alerting" is simply the present participle of "alert" when used as a verb, so its story is really the story of "alert" itself. That story begins in Italy, on a hillside. The Italian phrase "all'erta" meant "to the height" or "on the lookout," with "erta" referring to a lookout point or tower. Soldiers and sentries were told to stay up on that high ground, watching for approaching danger. The phrase travelled into French as "à l'erte," meaning "on the watch," and became the adjective "alerte," which carried the sense of being quick, wary, and ready. English borrowed the adjective from French, and it originally described a person who was watchful and nimble. The verb came later, formed within English by conversion, meaning the adjective was turned into a verb without any change in spelling. To alert someone was to warn them to be on guard. The verb's sense of raising a warning, and the modern sense of staying responsive to threats, both follow naturally from that original image of a sentry standing on high ground, scanning the horizon.

Synonyms: warning, notifying