Idioms for call

Origin of call

1200–50; late Middle English callen, probably < Old Norse kalla to call out, conflated with Old English (West Saxon) ceallian to shout; cognate with Middle Dutch kallen to talk, Old High German kallôn to shout, akin to Old English -calla herald, Irish gall swan, OCS glasŭ voice

synonym study for call

2, 3, 12. Call, invite, summon imply requesting the presence or attendance of someone at a particular place. Call is the general word: to call a meeting. To invite is to ask someone courteously to come as a guest, a participant, etc., leaving the person free to refuse: to invite guests to a concert; to invite them to contribute to a fund. Summon implies sending for someone, using authority or formality in making the request and (theoretically) not leaving the person free to refuse: to summon a witness, members of a committee, etc.

OTHER WORDS FROM call

un·called, adjective well-called, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH call

call caul cull

British Dictionary definitions for call on

call
/ (kɔːl) /

verb

noun

Word Origin for call

Old English ceallian; related to Old Norse kalla, Old High German kallōn, Old Slavonic glasǔ voice

Idioms and Phrases with call on (1 of 2)

call on

Also, call upon.

1

Make a request, ask for, choose, as in We are calling upon you to run for chairman, or The teacher called on Joe to answer. [c. 1400]

2

Pay a brief visit, as in The salesman said he'd call on me in the morning. Shakespeare had this usage in Antony and Cleopatra (1:4): “I'll call upon you ere you go to bed.” [Late 1500s]

Idioms and Phrases with call on (2 of 2)

call