In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
INVOKE
appeal, invoke
(verb) request earnestly (something from somebody); ask for aid or protection; “appeal to somebody for help”; “Invoke God in times of trouble”
invoke, appeal
(verb) cite as an authority; resort to; “He invoked the law that would save him”; “I appealed to the law of 1900”; “She invoked an ancient law”
raise, conjure, conjure up, invoke, evoke, stir, call down, arouse, bring up, put forward, call forth
(verb) summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic; “raise the specter of unemployment”; “he conjured wild birds in the air”; “call down the spirits from the mountain”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
invoke (third-person singular simple present invokes, present participle invoking, simple past and past participle invoked)
(transitive) To call upon (a person, a god) for help, assistance or guidance.
(transitive) To solicit, petition for, appeal to a favorable attitude.
(transitive) To call to mind (something) for some purpose.
(transitive) To appeal for validation to a (notably cited) authority.
(transitive) To conjure up with incantations.
(transitive) To bring about as an inevitable consequence.
(transitive, computing) To cause (a program or subroutine) to execute.
Synonyms
• (to call upon): invocate (obsolete)
• (appeal for validation): cite, reference, appeal
• (bring about): bring about, incite; see also incite
• (petition for): solicit, appeal, petition
• (computing, cause a program or subroutine to execute): call, execute, launch, run
Source: Wiktionary
In*voke", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Invoked; p. pr. & vb. n. Invoking.] Etym: [F. invoquer, L. invocare; pref. in- in, on + vocare to call, fr. vox voice. See Voice, and cf. Invocate.]
Definition: To call on for aid or protection; to invite earnestly or solemnly; to summon; to address in prayer; to solicit or demand by invocation; to implore; as, to invoke the Supreme Being, or to invoke His and blessing. Go, my dread lord, to your great grandsire's tomb, . . . Invoke his warlike spirit. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
23 January 2025
LEFT
(adjective) being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the west when facing north; “my left hand”; “left center field”; “the left bank of a river is bank on your left side when you are facing downstream”
Coffee Trivia
