invoke

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English envoken (“to summon”),^[2][3] borrowed from Middle French envoquer, also invoquer,^[2][4][5] which Etymonline records from the 12th century together with envochier;^[5] the modern form follows French invoquer and Latin invocō (“to call upon, implore”).^[6][7][8] The Latin verb is formed from in- (“upon”) and vocō (“to call”),^[5][9][10] which is related to vōx (“voice”),^[5][2][4] from Proto-Indo-European *wekw- (“to speak”).^[5][9] It is related to voice, convoke and provoke.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To summon: in Lydgate, before 1449, in the form envoken.^[2][3] The OED's first record is from Caxton's Eneydos (1490), in the sense "to call on God or a god in prayer or as a witness".^[6]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined the verb as "to call upon; to implore; to pray to".^[11] From 1602 it was used of summoning a spirit by charms,^[6][8] from 1617 of calling for something with earnest entreaty,^[6] and since 1698 of uttering a sacred name.^[6] The sense of citing or appealing to something in support of an argument appears in Gladstone in 1851,^[6] and the sense of calling for a law or procedure to be applied, originally American, in 1870.^[6] In computing, from 1961, to invoke a procedure or subroutine is to cause it to be carried out.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1449 – envoken, to summon.^[2][3]
• 1490 – to call on God or a god in prayer or as a witness.^[6]
• 1602 – to summon a spirit by charms; to conjure.^[6]
• 1617 – to beg for something earnestly.^[6]
• 1851 – to cite or appeal to in support of something.^[6]
• 1870 – to call for a law or procedure to be applied.^[6]
• 1961 – in computing, to cause a procedure to be carried out.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To call on a god or a higher power in prayer, for help or as a witness: The sailors invoked the saints before the storm.^[12][4][6]
2. To cite or appeal to an authority, principle or example in support of an argument or action.^[12][4][6]
3. To put a law, rule or procedure into effect: The league invoked its emergency rules.^[12][6]
4. To beg for help or the like; to implore.^[12][6]
5. To call up a spirit or demon; to conjure.^[12][6]
6. In computing, to start a procedure or subroutine; to call it.^[6]

Word family

• invoker
• invocable
• uninvocable
• invocation
• invocatory
• reinvoke
• uninvoked

Related words

• convoke
• evoke
• provoke
• revoke
• vocation
• voice

Usage notes

Collins notes that invoke is sometimes used by mistake where evoke is meant.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c 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)
4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ 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 c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins