summon

[suhm-uh n]

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verb (used with object)

to call upon to do something specified.

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

to call or notify to appear at a specified place, especially before a court: to summon a defendant.

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

to call into action; rouse; call forth (often. followed by up): to summon all one's courage.

Origin of summon

1175–1225; < Medieval Latin summonēre to summon, Latin: to remind unofficially, suggest, equivalent to sum- sum- + monēre to remind, warn; replacing Middle English somonen < Old French semondre, somondre < Vulgar Latin *summonere, Latin summonēre, as above

Related formssum·mon·a·ble, adjectivesum·mon·er, nounre·sum·mon, verb (used with object)un·sum·mon·a·ble, adjectiveun·sum·moned, adjective

Synonym study

1–3. See call.

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

Related Words for summoned

requested, paged, wanted, notified

Examples from the Web for summoned

Contemporary Examples of summoned

He has been summoned from the command post the NYPD has maintained for a decade just up the street.
Synagogue Slay: When Cops Have to Kill
Michael Daly
December 10, 2014
So outraged he swung into action and summoned the former Baltimore Ravens running back to the NFL Vatican on Park Avenue.
The $44 Million Teflon Don of the NFL
Mike Barnicle
November 30, 2014
Shostakovich was briefly in Moscow, and he was summoned to the theater.
When Stalin Met Lady Macbeth
Brian Moynahan
November 9, 2014
ISIS had summoned him from the Talesh area in the Guilan province north of Tehran, to perform the unholy duty.
Iran Says It’s Under Attack by ISIS
Jassem Al Salami
October 9, 2014
Cheap help could also be summoned from graduate students needing credit and/or work-study hours.
College Football Fattens Players Up and Then Abandons Them
Evin Demirel
October 4, 2014

Historical Examples of summoned

She awoke Milza, and desired that the household might be summoned.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
I summoned him to an interview, and informed him in decided terms that I must be master in my own ship.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
You have summoned me in my weakness; you must sustain me by your strength.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
The American people have summoned the change we celebrate today.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
So, before Austin spoke, she half divined why he had summoned her.
Viviette
William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for summoned

summon

verb (tr)

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

to order or instruct (to do something) or call (to something)the bell summoned them to their work

to call upon to meet or convene

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

Derived Formssummonable, adjective

Word Origin for summon

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

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 summoned

summon

c.1200, from Anglo-French, Old French sumundre "summon," from Vulgar Latin *summundre "to call, cite," from Latin summonere "hint to," from sub "under" + monere "warn, advise" (see monitor (n.)). Summons "authoritative call to be at a certain place for a certain purpose" is late 13c., from Old French sumunse, noun use of fem. past participle of somondre. Summoner "petty officer who cites persons to appear in court" is from early 14c.; contracted form sumner is from mid-14c.