convocation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English convocacioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French convocation and directly borrowed from Latin convocātiō (“a calling together, convoking”).^[3][2][5] The Anglo-Norman form convocacion is recorded from 1339, already in the phrase "to call a convocation".^[6] Merriam-Webster Unabridged takes the word through Middle French,^[4][7] while the OED and the Oxford Dictionary of English derive it only from Latin, the OED comparing French convocation, found in the 14th century according to Littré.^[8][9] The Latin noun of action is formed on the past participle stem of convocō (“to call together”),^[3][4][8] from com- (“with, together”) and vocō (“to call”),^[3][10] a verb derived from vōx (“voice”), from Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ- (“to speak”).^[3] The same Latin verb gave English convoke in the 16th century.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

An assembly of people summoned to meet: 1387, in J. Trevisa's translation of Higden's Polychronicon, where convocacioun renders Latin synodus.^[8][2] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century,^[3] and Dictionary.com to 1350–1400.^[7]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word was used of church synods, and before 1400 it was applied specifically to the provincial assemblies of the clergy of the Church of England;^[8][2] Etymonline notes that this ecclesiastical sense is the one most often meant.^[3] The abstract sense, the act of calling people together, is recorded from 1413, in Lydgate.^[8] Universities took the word over for their own assemblies: at Oxford, and later Durham, Convocation was the legislative body of all qualified Masters of Arts (from 1577), while at Cambridge it was formerly an assembly of the Senate out of term (1688–1828).^[8] The OED also records it for the parliament of the tinners in Cornwall (1703–78).^[8] Johnson (1755) gave three senses, the act of calling to an assembly, an assembly, and an assembly of the clergy, quoting "holy convocation" from Leviticus.^[11] In North America and India the word now names a ceremony at which a university confers degrees.^[12][13][14]

Timeline

• 1387 – an assembly of people called together.^[8][2]
• before 1400 – a provincial synod of the clergy of the Church of England.^[8]
• 1413 – the action of calling together by summons.^[8]
• 1577 – at Oxford, the legislative assembly of the university's Masters of Arts.^[8]
• 1688 – at Cambridge, an assembly of the Senate out of term (obsolete by 1828).^[8]
• 1703 – the parliament of the Cornish tinners (obsolete by 1778).^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A large formal assembly of people who have been summoned or convened; also, the people so assembled: The governors met in convocation to choose a new chancellor.^[13][4][15]
2. The act of calling people together, or the state of having been called together.^[13][8][15]
3. In the Church of England, either of the two provincial synods of the clergy, of Canterbury and of York.^[13][4][8]
4. In the Episcopal Church, an assembly of the clergy and part of the laity of a division of a diocese; also, the district it represents.^[13][15][4]
5. At some British universities, such as Oxford and Durham, a legislative assembly made up mainly of graduates.^[13][8]
6. In Canada, the United States and India, a ceremony at which degrees are conferred; a graduation.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Word family

• convocational
• convocationally

Related words

• convoke
• vocation
• voice
• vocal

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b Barber, Katherine, ed. (2004), The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, 2nd ed., Toronto: Oxford University Press
13. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ a b Dollinger, Stefan, ed., A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, 3rd ed. (online), Vancouver: University of British Columbia, dchp.arts.ubc.ca
15. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin