different between invocation vs invoke

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French invocacion, from Latin invocatio, invocationem.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -e???n

Noun

invocation (countable and uncountable, plural invocations)

1. The act or form of calling for the assistance or presence of some superior being, especially prayer offered to a divine being.
2. (chiefly law) A call or summons, especially a judicial call, demand, or order.

3. (law) An act of invoking or claiming a legal right.
4. (programming) The act of invoking something, such as a function call.

Derived terms

• invocational

Related terms

• invoke

Translations

French

Etymology

From Old French invocacion, borrowed from Latin invoc?ti?nem, accusative form of invoc?ti?.

Pronunciation

Noun

invocation f (plural invocations)

1. invocation

Related terms

• invoquer

Further reading

• “invocation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Alternative forms

• envoke (archaic or nonstandard)

Etymology

From Middle English *invoken, envoken, borrowed from Old French envoquer, from Latin invoc?re (“to call upon”), itself from in- +? vocare (“to call”). Doublet of invocate.

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: in'v?k, IPA^(key): /?n?vo?k/

Verb

invoke (third-person singular simple present invokes, present participle invoking, simple past and past participle invoked)

1. (transitive) To call upon (a person, a god) for help, assistance or guidance.
2. (transitive) To solicit, petition for, appeal to a favorable attitude.
3. (transitive) To call to mind (something) for some purpose.
4. (transitive) To appeal for validation to a (notably cited) authority.
   • 1969, Philip Ziegler, The Black Death, Folio Society 2007, p. 21:

     He invoked cadaveric poisoning as the reason for the high death rate among priests and monks […]

5. (transitive) To conjure up with incantations.

6. (transitive) To bring about as an inevitable consequence.

7. (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 Thesaurus:incite
• (petition for): solicit, appeal, petition
• (computing, cause a program or subroutine to execute): call, execute, launch, run

Derived terms

• invoker
• invokable
• uninvokable

Related terms

• invocate
• invocation
• invocational
• invocatory

Translations

Further reading

• invoke in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• invoke in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.