[in-vuh-key-shuh
n] 
| 1. | the act of invoking or calling upon a deity, spirit, etc., for aid, protection, inspiration, or the like; supplication. |
| 2. | any petitioning or supplication for help or aid. |
| 3. | a form of prayer invoking God's presence, esp. one said at the beginning of a religious service or public ceremony. |
| 4. | an entreaty for aid and guidance from a Muse, deity, etc., at the beginning of an epic or epiclike poem. |
| 5. | the act of calling upon a spirit by incantation. |
| 6. | the magic formula used to conjure up a spirit; incantation. |
| 7. | the act of calling upon or referring to something, as a concept or document, for support and justification in a particular circumstance. |
| 8. | the enforcing or use of a legal or moral precept or right. |
| in·voc·a·to·ry (ĭn-vŏk'ə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj. Of or having the nature of an invocation. |