summonn.
/ˈsʌmən/, U.S. /ˈsəmən/ Now somewhat rare.
= summons n. (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > [noun] > summons or summoning
lathingc897
summonc1330
summoningc1375
summonds1385
calla1400
summation?1473
citing1485
sanda1513
whistlea1529
provocation1542
evocation1575
bidding1810
biddance1836
whip1879
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 171 He bad his kniȝtes lele Com to his somoun Wiþ hors and wepenes fele.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 539 To take her hyre he mad sumoun.
1565 J. Jewel Replie Hardinges Answeare iv. 157 The worlde as yet had no skil of his Uniuersal power ouer al others: neither woulde they haue appeared vpon his Summon.
?1630 T. Adams Wks. 1231 Esther durst not come into the Presence, till the Scepter had giuen her admission; a summon of that emboldens her.
1779 G. Washington Let. 15 May in Writings (1934) XV. 82 If the Witnesses are to be called from Carolina, the summon ought to go to them without delay.
1867 Jamaica: Further Corr. 25 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 3859) XLIX. 117 The defendant who was in Kingston, instead of obeying the summon, fled from the Island.
1915 Texas Criminal Rep. 73 141 If he refused the summon of the constable he was punishable.
1975 D. Guthrie Apostles vi. 92 It was only as he obeyed the summon to get up that the chains dropped off.
Compounds
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > one who administers justice > an officer of the court > [noun] > registrar or clerk > clerk who filed writs or issued processes
filacer1447
cursitor1523
summon-master1618
Clerk of the Crown1681
1618 R. Brathwait Good Wife sig. E7 Death is..The Summon-maister of mortalitie.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2019; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
summonv.
/ˈsʌmən/, U.S. /ˈsəmən/α. early Middle English somoni (southern), early Middle English sumune, Middle English sommoune, Middle English somony (southern and south-west midlands), Middle English somoun, Middle English somoune, Middle English somounne, Middle English somown, Middle English somowne, Middle English somun, Middle English somune, Middle English somwn, Middle English–1500s sommone, Middle English–1500s somone, Middle English–1600s sommon, Middle English–1600s somon, Middle English–1600s summone, Middle English– summon, 1500s samon, 1500s sumown, 1500s–1600s sumon; Scottish pre-1700 solmond (past participle), pre-1700 sommon, pre-1700 sommoun, pre-1700 somoind (past participle), pre-1700 somon, pre-1700 somoun, pre-1700 somown, pre-1700 soumon, pre-1700 sowmmon, pre-1700 sowmon, pre-1700 sowmone, pre-1700 sowmoun, pre-1700 sowmown, pre-1700 sumand (past tense), pre-1700 summoind (past participle), pre-1700 summoun, pre-1700 sumon, pre-1700 sumoun, pre-1700 swmmown, pre-1700 1700s– summon; N.E.D. (1917) also records the forms Middle English sowmoun, late Middle English sumoun. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 214 He heihte his folc sumunen & cumen to him-seoluen. ▸ a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) viii. l. 1551 He let somoune a parlement, To which the lordes were asent.1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. l. 592 Yidder somownys he in hy Ye barownys of his reawte.a1536 in R. Dyboski Songs, Carols, & Other Misc. Poems (1908) 97 Whan deth commyth,..Obey we must, þer ys no remedye; He hath me somond.1645 W. Stafford Question Disputed 24 The Parliament..could not in an usuall and common course, sumon and reach Offenders, themselves being acused of high misdeamours.1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 87. ⁋8 We..summon our powers to oppose it.1886 J. Ruskin Præterita II. v. 157 You paused to summon courage to enter.1965 E. Mannin Burning Bush i. i. 17 He began making agitated signs to summon a waiter.2017 Irish Independent (Nexis) 13 Nov. 14 It is hard to summon up any enthusiasm or energy if we have a very low or negative view of ourselves.
β. early Middle English summed (past participle, transmission error), Middle English sommed (past participle, transmission error), Middle English somn- (inflected form), Middle English somni (Oxfordshire), Middle English somny (Berkshire), Middle English sumn- (inflected form), Middle English sumni (south-western), Middle English sumnie (south midlands), Middle English sumny (south-west midlands). c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9572 Ah nu ich wulle fusen & sumnien mine ferde.c1300 Life & Martyrdom Thomas Becket (Harl. 2277) (1845) l. 737 He let somni [c1300 Laud somony] Seint Thomas.c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 80 Sumne hym by a goode sumnyng that he be afore vs.
γ. Middle English somene, Middle English someni (south-west midlands), Middle English someny (south-west midlands), Middle English sommene, Middle English somyn, Middle English somynned (past participle), Middle English–1600s somen, 1600s somment (Scottish, past participle); N.E.D. (1917) also records a form early Middle English sumen. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 10379 Þe pope..alle þe bissops of engelond let someni to rome.a1425 J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 357 If þei somene symple men for þis accusing.?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Giii v To somen, adiourner.1653 Dumfries Council Minutes 4 Nov. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Summon(d Who ar to be somment to the nixt councell day to accept of thair chairge & tak thair oathes of fidelitie.
δ. Middle English sompne, Middle English sompny (west midlands). ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 281 Herodes..was i-sompned..to Rome for to answere to þe poyntes þat his owne sones putte uppon hym.c1450 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 573/14 Cito, to sompny.
1.
a. transitive. To call authoritatively for (an official group, parliament, council, etc.) to gather or assemble for the purpose of discussion or action; to order (a meeting, conference, etc.) to take place, to convene. Occasionally with †up. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > summon > together
summonc1275
indict1538
accerse1548
convocate?1553
convent1569
convene1596
convoke1598
recall1648
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9572 Ah nu ich wulle fusen & sumnien mine ferde.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 10379 Þe pope..alle þe bissops of engelond let someni to rome.
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xxii. l. 214 Grace..consailede hym and conscience the comune to someny.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxij Pope Paule by his legate Uergerius sommoneth the counsell of Mantua.
1678 A. Marvell Let. 28 Mar. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 228 The Shrieues haue order to summon up all absent Parliament men.
1777 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip II II. xvii. 117 He should summon the general assembly of the States to meet at least once a year.
1852 Advocate of Peace Aug. 137 The committee..thought it was wise to summon a conference of the friends of peace to deliberate on the whole question.
1909 Times 25 Nov. 11/2 On Monday night the Prime Minister summoned the members of the Military League to his house.
1956 W. S. Churchill Hist. Eng.-speaking Peoples II. xxviii. Upon this Parliament was immediately summoned in the King's name.
2013 European Rev. Lat. Amer. & Caribbean Stud. Oct. 103 Any member state or the Secretary General may summon a meeting.
b. transitive. To call (a peer) to attend parliament by writ of summons. Hence in later use: to confer the rank of peer on (a person). Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > procedure of parliament or national assembly > [verb (transitive)] > summon peer to parliament
summon1489
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > raising to noble rank > ennoble [verb (transitive)] > invest with rank or title > make into a lord > make into a peer
summon1489
peer1753
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 592 Thidder somownys he in hy The barownys of his reawte.
1583 J. Foxe Actes & Monuments (ed. 4) II. 343/1 'The king sommoneth a Parliament sending downe hys letters to his Sheriffes and other officers to summon the Prelates and Barons of the Realme.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 635 William Beauchamp who was summoned afterward to Parliament.
a1726 G. Gilbert Hist. View Court of Exchequer (1738) i. 6 The greatest Part of the Baronage was summoned to Parliament.
1838 Gentleman's Mag. June 656/1 Lord Berners has died unmarried; and her Majesty has been pleased to summon to the Barony his next brother, the Rev. Henry Wilson, Rector of Kirkby Cane.
1936 Times 3 Jan. 8 There is no lack of cases in early Parliaments where the King summoned a baron for his life, or even for a single Parliament, and never summoned any of his descendants.
2017 Mirror (Nexis) 31 Aug. (TV News) 3 The family's title was created on June 29, 1611, for James Hari, a descendant of John Harington, one of the Barons summoned to Parliament by Edward II.
2. † b. transitive. Law. To bring (a law suit) to court, usually to make a challenge concerning ownership of property. Obsolete. This sense chiefly occurs in the legal formula of agreements in the Court of Common Pleas (see e.g. quot. 1753 and later quots.); such agreements were abolished in 1833.† c. transitive. figurative. To call (a person) to account; to appeal to (a person) to abide by a promise or oath. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To order (a person) to appear before a court or other judicial authority at a specified time; to issue a writ of summons against (see summons n. 2.). In early use also figurative: to order (a person) to appear before God at the Last Judgement.intransitive in quot. ?1615.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > process, writ, warrant, or order > [verb (transitive)] > summon or issue summons against
cravec1000
summonc1300
summonda1400
convenec1425
cite1438
accitec1475
process1493
convent1538
convent1548
ascite1563
clepe and call1597
exact1607
sist1641
summons1659
society > law > administration of justice > process, writ, warrant, or order > [verb (intransitive)] > summon
summon?1615
c1300 St. Wulstan (Laud) l. 109 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 74 He liet [him] somoune al-so To westmunstre, to answerien him of þat he him hadde mis-do.
c1330 Simonie (Auch.) (1991) l. 339 Þe pore men beþ oueral somouned on assise, And þe riche sholen sitte at hom.
c1436 Domesday Ipswich (BL Add. 25011) in T. Twiss Black Bk. Admiralty (1873) II. 31 Ȝif the tenaunt..make defaute, thanne be..the tenaunte summoned be good sommones to ben at the next court.
a1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Vitell.) l. 10963 (MED) At the grete Iugement, Wher tassyses shal be holde..I somowne the, ther tappere, To Answere in thys matere!
a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 100 James Hammelltoun..was sowmond..to wnderly the law.
?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) ii. 11 The Heralds then, he strait charg'd to consort The curld-head Greekes, with lowd calls to a Court. They summon'd; th' other came.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. xx. 279 The courts of common law..making it necessary to summon the party accused before he is condemned.
1887 Courier (Middlesex) 23 June 12/3 George Champneys..was summoned for wilfully assaulting Mr. Smeadon.
1916 S. Coleridge Vivisection xii. 106 In England..the police carry nothing but truncheons, and would quickly and successfully be summoned for assault if they ever used them without justification.
1972 D. Germino Mod. Western Polit. Thought (1979) iii. 56 Luther was summoned to answer charges of heresy.
2011 Times 15 Dec. 84/1 The hearing began yesterday and is expected to continue until tomorrow, with Evra also expected to be summoned to give evidence.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > [verb (transitive)] > call (a plea) into court
summona1450
a1450 (c1400) in D. M. Grisdale 3 Middle Eng. Serm. (1939) 79 (MED) Þis mater was somynd boþe e g[e]neral & e special a-mong grete men þat longid to þe kyng & rith preue of his consel.
1753 G. Wilson Pract. Treat. Fines & Recoveries 6 A Plea of Covenant was summoned between them in the same Court.
1818 M. Dawes Epitome of Law of Landed Prop. 26 Whereupon a plea of covenant was summoned between them.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > responsibility > be responsible for [verb (transitive)] > become liable for > call to account
summon1570
1570 G. Fenton tr. J. de Serres Disc. Ciuile Warres Fraunce iii. 202 The L. of Byron summoned him to his promisse.
1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa IV. ii. viii. 836 The two Princes summoned Callimachus of his promise.
1787 A. Hawkins tr. V. Mignot Hist. Turkish Empire I. 86 Amurath wrote from Lampsaco to the podestate Adorna, to summon him to his word.
3.
a. transitive. To order or call authoritatively for (a person) to appear or come; to call for the presence of (someone or something); to call urgently for (help or assistance).
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
c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) l. 743 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 128 He let somony [c1300 Harl. 2277 somni] seint thomas.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1882) VIII. 151 He com at þe tyme as he was sommed [read somned; c1400 Tiber. ysomned].
1471–2 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 309 in Parl. Papers (C. 4576-I) XLII. 1 The seriaunt shal sompne ony suche att his house.
1566 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure I. Pref. sig. ¶¶ivv Their great Graundmother Eue when she was somoned from Paradise ioy.
c1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1635 (1955) II. 13 Summoning her children then living.
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic vi. 132 The family was then summoned to the spot, and the phenomena were seen alike by them all.
1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay i. 15 They were soon summoned to table.
1936 J. G. Cozzens Men & Brethren (1958) i. 79 The doorman..had raised his whistle to summon some favoured taxi from the corner.
1975 M. S. Drower in Middle East & Aegean Region (2000) 138 Sharre-Kushukh..summoned the aid of Syrian vassals against Tette of Nukhash.
2017 Sc. Daily Mail (Nexis) 17 Nov. 43 The Queen summoned all the Fleet Street editors to the Palace and appealed to them personally to rein back on their coverage.
b. transitive. figurative. With abstract or inanimate subject: to call (someone or something) to come. Frequently with adverb of direction. Also occasionally intransitive.In quot. c1460 as part of an extended metaphor in which physical frailties are personified, and so overlapping with sense 3a.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command or give orders [verb (intransitive)] > summon
summonc1460
whistle1560
call1590
whip1833
ring1847
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > send (a person)
sendc950
commandc1410
summonc1460
putc1540
order1649
c1460 (a1449) J. Lydgate Testament (Harl. 2255) in J. O. Halliwell Select. Minor Poems (1840) 241 Oon of his [sc. age] bedellys, namyd febilnesse, Came with his potent instede of a maas, Somowned me, and aftir cam syknesse.
1592 Arden of Feversham iii. iii. 11 A gentle slumber tooke me, And sommond all my parts to sweete repose.
1608 D. Tuvill Ess. Politicke, & Morall f. 38v Heerein may their practice serue like a seuerer Censor,..and summoning the blood into our faces, make vs ashamed.
1629 J. Wadsworth Eng. Spanish Pilgrime iii. 14 Euery morning the fift houre summons the vp.
1750 S. Johnson Let. 25 Sept. in J. Boswell Life Johnson (1791) I. 115 The business of life summons us away from useless grief.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality vi, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 115 The attention of Morton was summoned to the window by a great noise.
1891 ‘Q’ Noughts & Crosses iv. 120 Its [sc. the sea's] voice in his ears, calling, summoning all the way.
1978 M. Amis Success ii. 40 Invariably his cumbrous passage summons me from sleep.
2013 E. M. Richter Secret of Storyteller 222 I began to laugh, and my laughter summoned more laughter.
4.
a. transitive. To order or call upon (a person) to do something; to send for to perform a task, duty, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > command > command or bidding > command [verb (transitive)] > call on to do something
summonc1300
to call up1389
requirec1425
callc1430
repeal1585
demand1632
c1300 St. Swithun (Harl.) l. 133 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 47 Hi sumnede [a1325 Corpus Cambr. somned] aȝe þis holi day heȝe men ynowe þerto Bischopes and Abbotes, þe holi dede to do.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 1212 (MED) He somond þan þe schippemen..To schake furthe with þe schyre-men to schifte þe gudez.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 29 He somond all þe Cite..To a counsell to come for a cause hegh.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Diiij Cole-black clouds..Do summon vs to part. View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 143 I summon all..to be in readiness..to assist. View more context for this quotation
1782 W. Cowper Expostulation in Poems 112 That moving signal summoning..Their host to move.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Guinevere in Idylls of King 254 They summon me their King to lead mine hosts.
1915 V. Woolf Voy. Out (1978) ix. 104 Old Mrs Paley, having woken hungry but without her spectacles, was summoning her maid to find the biscuit box.
1961 I. Murdoch Severed Head (1972) iv. 38 I had come to see Palmer this evening instead of summoning him to see me.
2007 Vanity Fair Nov. 214/1 Conyers was summoned to fix a broken refrigerated truck.
b.
(a) transitive. To issue an order or signal calling for (a person) to surrender something, or to give oneself up.In quot. ?1473 with that rather than to.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > victory > make victorious [verb (transitive)] > call upon to surrender
summon?1473
to throw up one's hands1724
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 36 J the somone as legat..that thou yelde this cyte vnto his fader kyng saturne.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. xxxvj The kyng..sent an heraulde to somon vs to rendre to hym this cytee.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclij Donauerde, whiche being sommoned to render, had refused.
1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. ii. 52 The Duke of Exeter was sent..to summon the Citizens to surrender the Towne.
1710 A. Collins Peerage Eng. (ed. 2) I. i. 93 They immediately order'd a Bill to be brought in, to summon him to render himself by a certain Day.
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. xvi. 357 A man advanced and summoned us to surrender.
1933 Santa Fe Mag. Jan. 31/1 De Vargas then sent word to the Indians, summoning them to surrender.
2012 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 9 Jan. a4 He reportedly stabbed one of the officers repeatedly after being summoned to surrender.
(b) transitive. To issue an order or signal for (a castle, town, garrison, etc.) to surrender. Now historical.
ΚΠ
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. sig. B.iijv My lordes grace willynge to loose no tyme..sent an Heraulde to summon, a Castell of George Douglash called Dunglas.
1683 J. Turner Pallas Armata iii. xxvi. 346 A Trumpeter is sent to summon the place.
1714 E. Freke Remembrances (2001) 147 The army being posted, the king sentt his trumpentt into Limbrick to summon the towne.
1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer ii. 23 He first summoned the garrison.
1810 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1836) VI. 120 General Mermet summoned the place on the 12th.
1920 Inter-Amer. Oct. 21/1 A long-boat, manned by thirty men, put out to attack the vessel, which was summoned to surrender by trumpet calls.
2002 J. Black Amer. as Mil. Power ii. 21 Summoning the town, he was offered its occupation by John Rutledge, Governor of South Carolina.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > intimation or making known > intimate or make known (something) [verb (transitive)]
speakc825
areadc885
meldeOE
sayOE
yknowa1225
warnc1275
bekena1300
wraya1300
signifyc1325
declarec1340
to speak outc1384
discuss1389
notifyc1390
bida1400
advertise1447
notice1447
detectc1465
render1481
minister1536
to set outa1540
summonc1540
intimate1548
acquaint1609
phrase1614
voice1629
denote1660
unlade1717
apprise1817
aira1902
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 5 He cast hym..In a Cite be syde to somyn a fest.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. iii. 202 Prepare you Lords, Summon a Session. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iii. vii. 35 Summon a Parley, we will talke with him. [stage direct.] Trumpets sound a Parley. View more context for this quotation
6.
a. transitive. To rouse or muster (courage, strength, enthusiasm, etc.) from within oneself, esp. when it is an effort to do so; to call upon (one's inner resources). Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)] > bring or put into use > specifically a faculty
to call upon ——1477
to call up1538
summon1581
to call on ——1721
1581 A. Anderson Shield of Safetie sig. C.ij His faythfull seruantes..eyther by preaching, exhortation or pen, seeme to sommon their conscience to a better consideration of belonging duety to their God.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost ii. i. 1 Now Maddame summon vp your dearest spirrits. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 374 Relie On what thou hast of vertue, summon all. View more context for this quotation
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 87. ⁋8 We..summon our powers to oppose it.
1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate III. iv. 110 She had been driven to summon up all her courage to enable her to do so.
1906 U. Sinclair Jungle (1972) i. 8 The young men..huddled near the door, summon their resolution and advance.
1962 R. Park Good Looking Women (1979) xii. 227 Elva could summon strength only enough to cook the dinner and feed the noisy young ones.
2017 Irish Independent (Nexis) 13 Nov. 14 It is hard to summon up any enthusiasm or energy if we have a very low or negative view of ourselves.
b. transitive (reflexive). To recover control (of oneself or one's emotions); to pull oneself together. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > compose oneself [verb (reflexive)]
stilla1325
spakea1400
amesec1400
soft?a1500
stay1537
recollect1595
collect1602
compose1607
recompose1611
to reassume oneself1635
relax1685
summon1745
mellow1974
centre1980
1745 J. Cutts Rebellion Defeated i. v. 6 Fortune hath her various Turns: Summon yourself! defy her Pow'r!
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. iv. 96 He summoned himself hastily.
1949 A. Miller Death of Salesman (1998) (stage direct.) She sits there, summoning herself.
7.
a. transitive. In the context of magic, sorcery, spiritualism, etc.: to conjure or call into existence (a spirit, ghost, demon, etc.). Sometimes with up.
ΚΠ
1619 T. Milles tr. Virgil in tr. P. Mexia et al. Αρχαιο-πλουτος i. xiii. 46 He tooke his Rod, and with that powerfull Rod, He summond vp aloft pale meager Ghosts.
1753 Gray's Inn Jrnl. 17 Nov. 45 Our Author could not only bring his Ariel from the Ætherial Regions, but could also summon Ghosts from below, and had an equal sway in the Upper and Lower world.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. iii. iii. 181 The Magician's Famulus got hold of the forbidden Book, and summoned a goblin.
1915 Trad. of Tinguian (Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Chicago) 357 The medium..begins to summon spirits.
2004 Prediction Apr. 10/1 It really is best not to consider summoning a demon or to use ancient Grimoire spells.
b. transitive. To call into existence; to cause (something) to occur or manifest. Sometimes with up. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > [verb (transitive)] > elicit or call forth
movea1398
drawa1400
provoke?a1425
askc1450
to draw out1525
to stir up1526
allure?1532
suscitate1532
to call out1539
to draw fortha1569
draw1581
attract1593
raise1598
force1602
fetch1622
milka1628
invite1650
summon1679
elicit1822
to work up?1833
educe1840
1679 W. Falkner Christian Loyalty i. xiii. 293 The Parliament regularly is under the Government of the King. For he Summons and gives birth to it by his Writ.
1745 E. Young Consolation 78 He summons into Being, with like Ease, A Whole Creation, and a Single Grain.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iii. iii. 101 M. de Calonne has stretched out an Aaron's Rod over France;..and is summoning..unexpected things.
1978 B. D. Nossiter Britain i. 3 It summoned up an image of Britain that was truly alarming.
2016 P. Cuff Abel Gance & End of Silent Cinema i. 9 He..launches into a hallucinatory account of their ultimate victory, summoning a vision of an ancient Gaul warrior to inspire the men.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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