Invoking

How to spell invoking

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce invoking

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does invoking mean?

1. verbCalling on a law, authority, principle, or higher power in support of an action or argument.

Invoking in a sentence

• The lawyer was invoking an old statute to defend her client.

• By invoking the warranty, he got the faulty laptop replaced for free.

Where does invoking come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin invocare, which meant 'to call upon' or 'to appeal to', formed from the prefix in- meaning 'upon' and vocare meaning 'to call'. The same vocare root, literally 'to call', sits inside a large family of English words including 'vocal', 'vocation', 'advocate', and 'revoke', all of which carry the idea of the voice or of calling. English took the verb 'invoke' from the Latin past participle invocatus by way of Old French during the late fifteenth century, when it referred chiefly to calling on a god or a spirit for help. Over time the sense broadened to include calling on any authority, law, or principle in support of an argument. The present participle 'invoking' simply adds the -ing ending; the spelling trap is the single k written before -ing, since the silent c-to-k shift and the dropped final e of 'invoke' can tempt writers toward 'invokeing'.

How the word is built

• in- (upon, on)
• vok (from Latin vocare: to call)
• -ing (present participle suffix)