summon
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English
Etymology 1
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”).
Pronunciation
Verb
summon (third-person singular simple present summons, present participle summoning, simple past and past participle summoned)
- (transitive) To call people together; to convene.
- 2007, John Zerzan, Silence:
- Silence is primary, summoning presence to itself; so it's a connection to the realm of origin.
- (transitive) To ask someone to come; to send for.
- 1995, Explorers & Discoverers, volume 2, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 753:
- 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 Panchen Lama, who turned out to be only 11 years old.
- To order (goods) and have delivered
- (transitive) To rouse oneself to exert a skill.
- 1866, Pierre Bigandet, The Life or Legend of Gaudama, the Buddha of the Burmese, with annotations and notice on the Phongyies or Burmese monks, page 396:
- 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.
- 2011, Sister Louise Sweigart, cgs, Joseph: A Guiding Light, Inspiring Voices →ISBN, page 61
- Joseph needed to summon all his reserve to keep his self-control, for no sooner had Asa voiced his request than Joseph recalled his remark to Aaron about a child being given to this couple in lieu of their giving Mary to him.
- November 2 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Sergio Agüero strike wins derby for Manchester City against 10-man United," guardian.co.uk
- City will feel nonplussed when they review the tape and Pellegrini had to summon all his restraint in the post-match interviews.
- (fantasy, transitive) To call a resource by magic.
- 2010, Kay Hooper, The Wizard of Seattle, Fanfare, →ISBN:
- “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.”
- (law, transitive) To summons; convene.
Conjugation
Conjugation of summon
| infinitive | (to) summon | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | ||
| 1st-person singular | summon | summoned | |
| 2nd-person singular | summon, summonest† | summoned, summonedst† | |
| 3rd-person singular | summons, summoneth† | summoned | |
| plural | summon | ||
| subjunctive | summon | summoned | |
| imperative | summon | — | |
| participles | summoning | summoned | |
Derived terms
Translations
to call people together
| |||||
to ask someone to come
law: to order someone to appear in court
|
to rouse oneself to exert a skill
|
to call a resource by magic
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Noun
summon (plural summons)
- (video games) A creature magically summoned to do the summoner's bidding.
- call, command, order (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- quoted in 2013, Robin Sterling, People and Things from the Cullman, Alabama Tribune 1898-1913 (page 172)
- 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.
- quoted in 2013, Robin Sterling, People and Things from the Cullman, Alabama Tribune 1898-1913 (page 172)
Etymology 2
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
summon (plural summons)
- (Malaysia, colloquial, slang) A fine; a fee or monetary penalty incurred for breaking the law; usually for a minor offence such as a traffic violation.
- (Malaysia, colloquial, slang) A notice of an infringement of the law, usually incurring such a penalty; a citation or ticket.
Derived terms
Verb
summon (third-person singular simple present summons, present participle (rare) summoning, simple past and past participle summoned)
- (transitive, Malaysia, colloquial, slang) To impose such a fine or penalty, or to issue a notice thereof.
- The police summoned the driver for speeding.
- They kena summoned for littering.