evocation

[ev-uh-key-shuh n, ee-voh-key-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR evocation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of evoking; a calling forth: the evocation of old memories.

Law. (formerly) an action of a court in summoning a case from another, usually lower, court for purposes of complete review and decision, as on an appeal in which the issue is incidental or procedural and the court of first instance has not yet rendered a decision on its merits; the removal of a case from one court to another.

Origin of evocation

1400–50; late Middle English evocacioun < Latin ēvocātiōn- (stem of ēvocātiō) calling forth, out, equivalent to ēvocāt(us) (past participle of ēvocāre to evoke) + -iōn- -ion

Can be confusedavocation evocation

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for evocation

invocation, summons, conjuration

Examples from the Web for evocation

Contemporary Examples of evocation

Top U.S. officials contribute with their daily evocation of saintly principles that the United States itself has often defied.
Cut the Baloney on Ukraine
Leslie H. Gelb
March 9, 2014
The best thing about it is its evocation of civilian life in the 1940s, both in the U.S. and Australia.
Diving Into The Pacific
Allen Barra
May 6, 2010
For all the evocation of history, it is important to note that the groups sponsoring these rallies are newly created.
Today's Holiday of Hate
John Avlon
April 19, 2010
And an embellished event can be closer to the truth than factual precision, if its evocation is infused with intuitive wisdom.
Did Frank McCourt Invent James Frey?
Lee Siegel
July 20, 2009

Historical Examples of evocation

The history of the evocation of Samuel by the witch of Endor is well known.
The Phantom World
Augustin Calmet
There was a little silence at this evocation of the melancholy of gone days.
The Trimming of Goosie
James Hopper
For the artist it is creation by expression; for the appreciator it is creation by evocation.
The Gate of Appreciation
Carleton Noyes
But the image does not lead to evocation of related or parallel ideas.
Essay on the Creative Imagination
Th. Ribot
In a moment his rival's evocation became to him impossible to bear.
Cosmopolis, Complete
Paul Bourget

British Dictionary definitions for evocation

evocation

noun

the act or an instance of evoking

French law the transference of a case from an inferior court for adjudication by a higher tribunal

another word for induction (def. 6)

Word Origin for evocation

C17: from Latin ēvocātiō a calling forth, from ēvocāre to evoke

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for evocation

1570s, from Latin evocationem (nominative evocatio), noun of action from past participle stem of evocare "call out, rouse, summon," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + vocare "to call" (see voice (n.)).

Evocation was used of the Roman custom of petitioning the gods of an enemy city to abandon it and come to Rome; it also was used to translate the Platonic Greek anamnesis "a calling up of knowledge acquired in a previous state of existence."

evocation in Medicine

evocation

[ĕv′ə-kā′shən, ē′və-]

n.

The induction of a particular tissue produced by the action of an evocator during embryogenesis.