kleI ri ən
adjective
1. clear and sharp or shrill, as a call.
Listen to the clarion cry of a red-shouldered hawk:
http://www.audubon.org/sites/default/files/RESHHA_1.typicalcallsnum1_FLle.mp3?uuid=555a2d5c1d19b
2. a medieval trumpet with a high clear tone.
3. the sound of this trumpet, esp. as a call to action, or any similar sound.
“At last came a letter from Madeline that aroused them as the clarion stirs those arrayed for battle.” (Lawrence L. Lynch – Madeline Payne, the Detective’s Daughter)
Editor’s Note:
The expression “clarion call” means a strong request or demand for serious action. It can also refer to something–an event or discovery– that should or does provoke serious action. The rapid die-off of bees we are witnessing might be regarded as a clarion call to change how we treat the natural environment.