evocare

Evocare is a term found in several Romance languages with the core sense of calling forth memory, image, or feeling. In Italian, evocare is a verb meaning to evoke or summon. In Romanian, evocare is a noun meaning evocation or recollection. In English-language writing, the related concepts are evoke (verb) and evocation (noun). The term is commonly used in literature, psychology, and the arts to describe the act of bringing something to mind or eliciting a response.

Etymology: Evocare derives from the Latin evocare, formed from ex- “out” and vocare “to call.” Its cognates appear across Romance languages: Italian evocare, Spanish evocar, French évoquer, Romanian evoke?a (a form variant) and evocare, all sharing the root idea of calling forth.

Usage: In Italian, phrases such as “evocare un ricordo” illustrate the sense of conjuring memories. In literature and film, an evocative scene aims to provoke emotional or sensory associations. In psychology, evocation refers to the process by which stimuli elicit certain responses or memories. In translation, the English terms evoke (verb) and evocation (noun) correspond to the Romance forms depending on language.

See also: Evocation, Evoke, Conjure, Memory. This article uses the English terms evoke and evocation where appropriate while noting the Romance-language forms that underlie the concept.