invocare

Invocare is a Latin verb of the first conjugation meaning to call upon, invoke, or summon. It commonly denotes appealing to a deity, spirit, or higher power for aid, protection, or justification, as in invocare deum or invocare auxilium. It can also mean to invoke a law, rule, or principle, or to call someone as a witness or for testimony. In classical usage, the verb is transitive and forms a passive invocari, meaning “to be invoked.” The infinitive invocare and the perfect invocavi belong to the standard first-conjugation paradigm, with regular person and number endings in dependent forms.

Etymology and grammar: invocare derives from in- “upon” plus vocare “to call,” literally “to call upon.” Like other Latin verbs of its class, it follows predictable patterns for tense, mood, voice, number, and person. The noun invocatio, meaning invocation, is closely related and often used in both religious and secular texts to denote the act of invoking or the act of appealing to authority.

Usage and influence: In ancient religious and literary contexts, invocare figures in prayers, rites, and rhetorical occasions where a speaker appeals to gods, heroes, or moral authorities. In legal and political Latin, it appears in phrases that describe invoking rights, precedents, or legal instruments. The term has left a clear mark on Romance languages, producing Italian invocare, Spanish invocar, French invoquer, and Portuguese invocar, all sharing the core sense of calling upon or appealing to something. In English, the related forms are invoke and invocation, drawing from the same Latin roots.