invokev.
/ɪnˈvəʊk/, U.S. /ᵻnˈvoʊk/ 1.
a. transitive. To call on (God, a deity, etc.) in prayer or as a witness; to appeal to for aid or protection; to summon or invite in prayer.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)] > appeal to or invoke
halsec825
askOE
witnec1200
halsenc1290
calla1325
incalla1340
to speak to ——1362
interpel1382
inclepec1384
turnc1384
becallc1400
ethec1400
peala1425
movec1450
provoke1477
adjure1483
invoke1490
conjurea1500
sue1521
invocatea1530
obtest1548
obtestate1553
to throw oneself on (or upon)1592
obsecrate1598
charm1599
to cry on ——1609
behight1615
imprecate1643
impray1855
society > faith > worship > prayer > kinds of prayer > [verb (transitive)] > invoke or call upon
oncallc1400
invoke1490
invocatea1530
1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xxiv. 88 She inuoqued and called thre tymes by hidous wordes thre hundred goddes infernall.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme cxix. 5 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 208 Since I haue enuoked thee; Lett me lord thy succour see.
a1634 W. Austin Devotionis Augustinianæ Flamma (1635) 256 As wee must not Invoke them [angels], so much lesse must we adore or worship them.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 53 Ye Swains, invoke the Pow'rs who rule the Sky, For a moist Summer, and a Winter dry. View more context for this quotation
1777 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip II I. vii. 177 In witness of this our league, we invoke the holy name of the living God.
1885 Athenæum 21 Mar. 369/3 Apollo, then, is invoked in this passage as an avenging victor.
b. To appeal to, in confirmation of something.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > attest, bear witness [verb (transitive)] > call to witness
to take witness of1390
vouchc1412
record1590
attest1609
to swear downa1616
appeal1645
to take up1821
invoke1851
the mind > language > statement > assurance, confirmation, or guarantee > assure, confirm, or guarantee [verb (transitive)] > appeal to in confirmation of
obtest1626
invoke1851
the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)] > appeal to or invoke > to bear witness or confirm
teemOE
protest1555
contest1610
invoke1851
1851 W. E. Gladstone Gleanings (1879) VI. xxix. 19 I cannot here do better than invoke the authority of Hooker.
2.
a. To summon (a spirit) by charms or incantation; to conjure; also figurative. (Cf. conjure v. 9.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > [verb (transitive)] > invoke (a spirit)
conjurec1290
reara1382
to call upc1390
raisec1395
devocatec1570
adjure1585
invoke1602
evoke1623
incantate1623
conjure1637
excitea1639
evocate1675
incant1926
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iii. ii. sig. E4v Inuoking all the spirits of the graues, To tell me.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Leila i. ii. 19 I can invoke and conjure up those whose eyes are more piercing, whose natures are more gifted.
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton Harold II. viii. iv. 255 Thou shalt stand by my side while I invoke the phantom.
1862 W. F. Hook Lives Archbishops Canterbury II. ii. 132 Thus was the science of architecture invoked.
b. To utter (a sacred name) in invocation.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > naming > give a name to [verb (transitive)] > invoke (name)
invoke1698
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 262 His Name being invoked when any Commendable or Famous Action is performed; saying Shaw Abas, or Shabas, as we are wont to say, Well done.
a1704 T. Brown Satire upon Quack in Wks. (1720) I. 72 Wrinkled Witches, when they truck with Hell, Invoke thy Name, and use it for a Spell.
3. To call upon, or call to (a person) to come or to do something.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > summon
lathec900
hightOE
clepec1000
ofclepeOE
ofsendOE
warna1250
callc1300
summonc1300
incalla1340
upcallc1340
summonda1400
becallc1400
ofgredec1400
require1418
assummonc1450
accitec1475
provoke1477
convey1483
mand1483
whistle1486
vocatec1494
wishc1515
to call up1530
citea1533
convent1540
convocate1542
prorogate1543
accersit1548
whistle for1560
advocatea1575
citate1581
evocate1639
demand1650
to warn in1654
summons1694
invoke1697
to send for1744
to turn up1752
requisition1800
whip1857
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 145 Ev'n then his trembling Tongue invok'd his Bride; With his last Voice, Eurydice, he cry'd. View more context for this quotation
1878 J. T. Trowbridge Guy Vernon in G. P. Lathrop Masque of Poets 213 All things In youth and loveliness to love invoke us.
4. To call for (a thing) with earnest entreaty; to make supplication for, to implore.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)]
yearnOE
bid971
seek971
askOE
beseechc1175
banc1275
yerec1275
cravec1300
desirec1330
impetrec1374
praya1382
nurnc1400
pleadc1400
require1400
fraynec1430
proke1440
requisitea1475
wishc1515
supply1546
request1549
implore?c1550
to speak for ——1560
entreat1565
impetratec1565
obtest?1577
solicit1595
invoke1617
mendicate1618
petition1621
imprecate1636
conjurea1704
speer1724
canvass1768
kick1792
I will thank you to do so-and-so1813
quest1897
to hit a person up for1917
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 156 Upon condition that my Inviter would be my protection from large drinking, which I was many times forced to invoke.
1773 H. More Search after Happiness ii. 136 Then let us, Power Supreme! thy will adore, Invoke thy mercies, and proclaim thy power.
1832 W. Irving Alhambra I. 58 The spirits..who nightly haunt the scene of their suffering, and invoke the vengeance of Heaven on their destroyer.
1865 G. Grote Plato I. iii. 129 His advice was respectfully invoked.
5. Admiralty Prize Procedure. To call in evidence from a parallel case, or from the papers of a sister ship of the same owners, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > evidence > give evidence of [verb (transitive)] > call in papers from another case
invoke1804
1804 C. Robinson Rep. High Court Admiralty 4 167 Laurence..objected that it was not admissible, according to the rules of evidence, to invoke depositions from other cases.
1817 H. Wheaton Rep. Supreme Court U.S. 2 App. Note i. 23 Papers found on board another captured ship may be invoked into the cause..but the authenticity of papers thus invoked must be verified by affidavit.
1828 N. Webster Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) To order, to call judicially; as to invoke depositions or evidence into a court.
Derivatives
inˈvoked adj.
ΚΠ
1801 A. Ranken Hist. France I. i. iii. 85 Afraid..of the vengeance of these invoked tutelary saints.
inˈvoking n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > [noun] > invocation or appeal
bodec1175
stevenc1200
crya1300
askingc1330
prayerc1330
beseeching1340
invocationc1384
billc1386
conjuringa1400
pealc1400
conjurationc1450
adjuration?1473
remonstrance?1473
interpellation1526
contestation1548
address1570
vocation1574
imprecation1585
appellation1587
supplantation1590
advocation1598
application1607
invoking1611
inclamation1613
conjurement1643
bespeaking1661
vocative1747
incalling1850
appeal1859
appealing1876
appealingness1876
rogative1882
cri de cœur1897
society > faith > worship > prayer > kinds of prayer > [noun] > invocatory > action of using
invocating1607
invoking1611
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Inuocatione, an inuoking or calling vpon for aide.
1645 J. Milton Epit. Marchioness of Winchester in Poems 24 The God that sits at marriage feast; He at their invoking came.
1836 J. H. Newman et al. Lyra Apost. 61 We may not stir the heaven of their repose By rude invoking voice.
Draft additions 1993
To appeal to, cite, or posit in support of a course of action, explanation, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > attest, bear witness [verb (transitive)] > bring forward as evidence
to draw forthc1175
showa1325
drawc1330
allaya1387
to avouch a thing upon (a person)1393
allegea1398
adduce?a1425
induce1433
recite1509
infera1529
vouch1531
cite1550
avouch1573
relate1604
instance1608
rejourn1624
quote1663
abduce1720
invoke1879
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul II. ix. xxxi. 12 [The Temple of Diana at Ephesus] Its doors..surmounted by transoms so vast and solid that the aid of miracles was invoked to account for their elevation.
1927 Amer. Jrnl. Internat. Law 21 509 The principle of rebus sic stantibus was invoked by Austria–Hungary in 1908 as a justification..for the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1939 J. Joyce Finnegans Wake 572 He is considered to have committed, invoking droit d'oreiller, simple infidelities with Felicia.
1946 C. Morris Signs, Lang. & Behavior 201 The explanation has the merit of not invoking non-behavioral factors.
1974 A. Davis Autobiogr. v. 331 The argument he had invoked when he rejected our bail motion no longer held water.
1985 J. Berman Talking Cure iv. 91 Far from isolating literature from psychology, Eliot invokes a clinical authority to confirm his intuition.
c. To call for (a law, procedure, etc.) to be applied or observed. Originally U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > request > request or ask for [verb (transitive)] > appeal to or invoke > call for a law, etc., to be applied
invoke1870
1870 S. Nelson in J. W. Wallace Cases Supreme Court U.S. 9 278 It follows that the seventh amendment could not be invoked in a State court to prohibit it from re-examining..facts that had been tried by a jury in the court below.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. xlix. 255 In such parts of the West.., if the sheriff is distant or slack, lynch law may usefully be invoked.
1934 Sun (Baltimore) 3 May 1/4 Representative Pettingill..threatened to invoke disciplinary procedure against Mr. Britten by means of what is known in the House as ‘taking down’ his words.
1965 A. J. P. Taylor Eng. Hist. 1914–45 vii. 250 The clause against sympathetic and political strikes was never invoked during its nineteen years of existence.
1977 K. M. E. Murray Caught in Web of Words (1979) viii. 159 There was a dismissal clause to be invoked if the Editor should not proceed as fast as the Delegates considered reasonable.
1983 B. T. Bradford Voice of Heart xi. 103 The year would be up at the end of March and so she could invoke the clause and leave the production to do the film.
d. Computing. To cause (a procedure, subroutine, etc.) to be carried out; = call v. 26.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > programming language > programme execution > run or execute [verb (transitive)]
run1946
call1951
invoke1961
1961 Communications ACM 4 55/1 The second phase, which invokes diagram to output the assembly language program.
1973 C. W. Gear Introd. Computer Sci. v. 194 A function is a complete piece of program known as a procedure. When it is used we say that it has been called or invoked.
1979 Sci. Amer. Dec. 86/2 The problem can be solved by inserting into the program still another extra variable, DISC.., and checking to see whether DISC is less than zero before invoking the square-root function.
1985 Which Computer? Dec. 53/3 The GD command invokes the graphics drawing language (GDL) for the Canon printer.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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