summon
English · Thesaurus
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summon¹
- /ˈsʌmən/
Rhymes with -ʌmən
Where it comes from
From Anglo-Norman somoundre, from Old French sumundre, from Latin summonēre, itself from sub + monēre, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti, causative from *men- (“to think”).
Compare typologically from the same PIE root mention, Russian помина́ть (pominátʹ), упомина́ть (upominátʹ) (developed less further, keeping strong relation with по́мнить (pómnitʹ)), also compare помина́й как зва́ли (pomináj kak zváli) (<+ звать (zvatʹ)).
verb summons · summoning · summoned · summon
- To call people together; to convene; to convoke. Silence is primary, summoning presence to itself; so it's a connection to the realm of origin.
- To ask someone to come; to send for. The cousins separated, and Nain Singh joined a caravan posing as a merchant. This time he crossed the border successfully. Singh eventually entered Jih-k’a-tse, the second-largest city in Tibet. It was in Jih-k’a-tse that he was summoned to meet the country’s second-highest religious authority, the
- To order (goods) and have delivered You can summon groceries, alcohol and medicines to your home: chips and vodka on New Year’s Eve, say, and then aspirin on New Year’s Day.
- To rouse oneself to exert a skill. For securing the attainment of what he considered to be a most desirable end, he summoned all his abilities with a most praiseworthy energy and perseverance.
- To call a resource by magic. “Why won't you teach me to summon water? I can summon fire so easily, it's only logical that I should learn to put out my mistakes.”
- To summons; convene.
noun summons
- A creature magically summoned to do the summoner's bidding. Conjuration magic in Baldur's Gate 3 allows players to summon a variety of helpful creatures […] These summons can assist players in combat and exploration, providing strategic advantages with their unique abilities.
- call, command, order The deceased was 58 years of age, was the picture of health even five or six hours prior to his death, when suddenly the grim messenger came with a summon from a Higher Tribunal, calling him to duties above.
summon²
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Malay saman (“fine, financial penalty”), which is itself borrowed from English summons (“notice summoning someone to appear in court”). This sense re-emerged in English as summon likely due to the erroneous belief that the original singular English word summons is plural. Doublet of summons and saman.
noun summons
- A fine; a fee or monetary penalty incurred for breaking the law; usually for a minor offence such as a traffic violation. You better pay off the parking summon tomorrow before you kena interest on it.
- A notice of an infringement of the law, usually incurring such a penalty; a citation or ticket.
verb summons · summoning · summoned
- To impose such a fine or penalty, or to issue a notice thereof. The police summoned the driver for speeding.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: rally, cite, marshal, muster, mobilize, muster up, come up, call for, convoke, convening, convene, assign, gather, invoke, demonstrate, assemble
Translations
Every language
verb to call people together
| Español | convocar, llamar, reunir, citar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 召集する shōshū suru |
| Português | convocar |
| Français | convoquer, convier |
| Deutsch | zusammenrufen, herbeirufen |
| Italiano | chiamare, raccogliere, convocare, riunire, adunare |
| Ελληνικά | καλώ kaló |
| Română | convoca |
| Русский | сзыва́ть impf/созыва́ть szyvátʹ, созвать sozvatʹ, призыва́ть prizyvátʹ, призва́ть prizvátʹ |
| עברית | זִמֵּן zimmén |
verb to ask someone to come
| Español | llamar, citar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 呼び出す yobidasu |
| हिन्दी | बुलाना bulānā, पुकारना pukārnā |
| Português | convocar |
| Français | convoquer, convier |
| Deutsch | herbeirufen, (Hilfe) holen |
| Italiano | chiamare, mandare a chiamare, convocare |
| Română | convoca, chema |
| Русский | звать zvatʹ, позва́ть pozvátʹ, вызыва́ть vyzyvátʹ, вы́звать výzvatʹ |
| العربية | يَسْتَحْضِر yastaḥḍir, يَسْتَدْعِي yastadʕī |
verb law: to order someone to appear in court
| Español | citar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 召喚する shōkan suru, 出頭を命ずる shuttō o meizuru |
| Português | convocar, intimar |
| Français | convoquer |
| Deutsch | vorladen |
| Italiano | convocare, citare in giudizio, intimare |
| Русский | вызыва́ть vyzyvátʹ, вы́звать výzvatʹ |
verb to rouse oneself to exert a skill
| Français | rassembler |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | zusammennehmen, aufbieten |
| Русский | собрать sobrátʹ, объединить obʺjedinítʹ |
Talk about this word "summon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/summon. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. summon. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/summon "summon." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/summon.Cite this
@misc{summon_2026,
title = {summon},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/summon},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
