call
UK /kɔːl/ · US /kɔl/ verb, noun, proper noun
Also a form of caul
Forms calls calling called call'd callest calledst calleth
- verb (intransitive) To request, summon, or beckon. “That person is hurt; call for help!”
- verb (intransitive) To cry or shout.
- verb (transitive) To utter in a loud or distinct voice. “to call the roll of a military company”
- verb (ambitransitive) To contact by telephone. “Why don’t you call me in the morning?”
- verb (transitive) To rouse from sleep; to awaken.
- verb (transitive, jazz) To request that one's band play (a particular tune).
- verb (Yorkshire, transitive) To scold.
- verb To pay a (social) visit (often used with "on", "round", or "at"; used by salespeople with "again" to invite customers to come again). “We could always call on a friend.”
- noun A cry or shout. “He heard a call from the other side of the room.”
- noun The characteristic cry of a bird or other animal. “That sound is the distinctive call of the cuckoo bird.”
- noun A beckoning or summoning. “I had to yield to the call of the wild.”
- noun A telephone conversation; a phone call. “I received several phone calls today.”
- noun An instance of calling someone on the telephone. “I made a call to Jim, but he didn’t answer.”
- noun A short visit, usually for social purposes. “I paid a call to a dear friend of mine.”
- noun (nautical) A visit by a ship or boat to a port. “The ship made a call at Southampton.”
- noun A decision or judgement. “That was a good call.”
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
holler yell cry halloo roar howl roop scream shout drop a line ring get on the horn give someone a ring give someone a bell telephone call up dial up give someone a buzz give someone a call give someone a jingle phone call telephone call outcry vociferation claim birdcall birdsong song margin call call option
Etymology
From Middle English callen, from Old English ċeallian (“to call, shout”) and Old Norse kalla (“to call; shout; refer to as; name”); both from Proto-Germanic *kalzōną (“to call, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *golH-so- (“voice, cry”), from *gel(H)- (“to vocalize, call, shout”).
* Albanian gjuhë (“language, tongue”).
* As an Irish surname, shortened from McCall.
* As an English surname, from the noun caul (“kind of headdress or cap”).
* Also as an English surname, from Middle English calwe (“bald”).
* Also as an English surname, from a Middle English derivative of Latin caulae (“sheepfold”).
* As a Catalan surname, from the noun call (“narrow track”), from Latin callis (“path”). Compare Calle.
* As a German surname, Americanized from Koll, Goll.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To command or request to come or be present; to summon; as, to call a servant.
- verb To summon to the discharge of a particular duty; to designate for an office, or employment, especially of a religious character; --often used of a divine summons; as, to be called to the ministry; sometimes, to invite; as, to call a minister to be the pastor of a church.
- verb To speak in loud voice; to cry out; to address by name; --sometimes with to. You must call to the nurse. Shak.
- verb To make a demand, requirement, or request.
Etymology [OE. callen, AS. ceallin; akin to Icel & Sw. kalla, Dan. kalde, D. kallen to talk, prate, Gr. gar to praise. Cf. Garrulous.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “call”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details