summon

[ suhm-uhn ]
See synonyms for summon on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to call upon to do something specified.

  2. to call for the presence of, as by command, message, or signal; call.

  1. to call or notify to appear at a specified place, especially before a court: to summon a defendant.

  2. to authorize or order a gathering of; call together by authority, as for deliberation or action: to summon parliament.

  3. to call into action; rouse; call forth (often. followed by up): to summon all one's courage.

Origin of summon

1
First recorded in 1175–1225; from Medieval Latin summonēre “to summon,” Latin: “to remind unofficially, suggest,” equivalent to sum- sum- + monēre “to remind, warn”; replacing Middle English somonen, from Old French semondre, somondre, from unattested Vulgar Latin summonere, Latin summonēre, as above

synonym study For summon

1-3. See call.

Other words from summon

  • sum·mon·a·ble, adjective
  • sum·mon·er, noun
  • re·sum·mon, verb (used with object)
  • un·sum·mon·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use summon in a sentence

  • The figures which move by us as we try to summon up the panorama of that past are indistinct and obscure.

    Out of the Hurly-Burly | Charles Heber Clark
  • Ah that we clergymen would summon up courage to tell them that!

    Westminster Sermons | Charles Kingsley

British Dictionary definitions for summon

summon

/ (ˈsʌmən) /


verb(tr)
  1. to order to come; send for, esp to attend court, by issuing a summons

  2. to order or instruct (to do something) or call (to something): the bell summoned them to their work

  1. to call upon to meet or convene

  2. (often foll by up) to muster or gather (one's strength, courage, etc)

Origin of summon

1
C13: from Latin summonēre to give a discreet reminder, from monēre to advise

Derived forms of summon

  • summonable, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012