invocation

[in-vuh-key-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of invoking or calling upon a deity, spirit, etc., for aid, protection, inspiration, or the like; supplication.

2. any petitioning or supplication for help or aid.

3. a form of prayer invoking God's presence, especially one said at the beginning of a religious service or public ceremony.

4. an entreaty for aid and guidance from a Muse, deity, etc., at the beginning of an epic or epiclike poem.

5. the act of calling upon a spirit by incantation.

6. the magic formula used to conjure up a spirit; incantation.

7. the act of calling upon or referring to something, as a concept or document, for support and justification in a particular circumstance.

8. the enforcing or use of a legal or moral precept or right.

invocation

/ ˌɪnvəˈkeɪʃən, -trɪ, ɪnˈvɒkətərɪ /

noun

1. the act of invoking or calling upon some agent for assistance

2. a prayer asking God for help, forgiveness, etc, esp as part of a religious service

3. an appeal for inspiration and guidance from a Muse or deity at the beginning of a poem

4. 1. the act of summoning a spirit or demon from another world by ritual incantation or magic

   2. the incantation used in this act

Other Word Forms

• invocatory adjective
• preinvocation noun
• invocational adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of invocation¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English invocacio(u)n, from Latin invocātiōn-, stem of invocātiō “a calling upon”; invocate, -ion

Example Sentences

Forty-plus years later, I regularly attend the monthly town council meeting in our adopted hometown of Fries, in southwest Virginia, and my favorite part is the opening invocation.

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Comparisons to the late-1990s dot-com bubble abound, as do invocations of the crash that followed.

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The ovation had the character not of high-pitched cheering but of an involuntary low-pitched invocation of wonderment, even disbelief.

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He and others say an invocation of the Insurrection Act would shift widespread concern about military policing of American streets into existential territory.

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Recreating a famous moment — such as when Seberg runs her finger over her lips as Belmondo had done — was deeply meaningful to him: an invocation.

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