summon

[suhm-uhn]

verb (used with object)

1. to call upon to do something specified.

2. to call for the presence of, as by command, message, or signal; call.

3. to call or notify to appear at a specified place, especially before a court.

   to summon a defendant.

4. to authorize or order a gathering of; call together by authority, as for deliberation or action.

   to summon parliament.

5. to call into action; rouse; call forth (often. followed byup ).

   to summon all one's courage.

summon

/ ˈsʌmən /

verb

1. to order to come; send for, esp to attend court, by issuing a summons

2. to order or instruct (to do something) or call (to something)

   the bell summoned them to their work

3. to call upon to meet or convene

4. (often foll by up) to muster or gather (one's strength, courage, etc)

Other Word Forms

• summonable adjective
• summoner noun
• resummon verb (used with object)
• unsummonable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of summon¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; from Medieval Latin summonēre “to summon,” Latin: “to remind unofficially, suggest,” equivalent to sum- sum- + monēre “to remind, warn”; replacing Middle English somonen, from Old French semondre, somondre, from unattested Vulgar Latin summonere, Latin summonēre, as above

Word History and Origins

Origin of summon¹

C13: from Latin summonēre to give a discreet reminder, from monēre to advise

Synonym Study

See call.

Example Sentences

Called the Independent Commission on Grooming Gangs, the inquiry will have legal powers to direct targeted investigations in local areas and summon witnesses to give evidence.

Read more on BBC

A soft-focus “new year, new me,” without the punitive self-improvement vibes that January tends to summon.

Read more on Salon

Jim Crow sculptures summoned visual tradition as a prestige podium from which to rerun racist hate.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Nakajima, meanwhile, could not summon up the fireworks of his third-round 65, and had to settle for his third second-place finish on the DP World Tour.

Read more on BBC

Are the summoned souls drawn from the afterlife, or are they memories and images conjured from what remains of them in the world of the living?

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ask 
• assemble 
• call 
• call for 
• call in 
• convene 
• direct 
• draft 
• gather 
• invite 
• mobilize 
• recall 
• request 
• subpoena