Call Definition

kôl

called, calling, calls

verb

called, calling, calls

To say or read in a loud tone; shout; announce.

To call the names of stations.

Webster's New World

To demand or ask for the presence of.

Called the children to dinner; call the police.

American Heritage

To ask that a person do something, esp. speak, as at a meeting.

Webster's New World

To summon to a specific duty, profession, etc.

The army called him.

Webster's New World

To convoke judicially or officially.

To call a meeting.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

noun

calls

An act or instance of calling.

Webster's New World

A loud utterance; shout.

Webster's New World

The distinctive cry of an animal or bird.

Webster's New World

A sound made in imitation of such a cry to attract an animal or bird.

Webster's New World

A telephone communication or connection.

American Heritage

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Antonyms:
dismissal
put option
silence

idiom

call in

To raise doubts about.

American Heritage

call it a day

To stop what one has been doing, for the remainder of the day or at least for the present.

American Heritage

call it a night

To stop what one has been doing, for the remainder of the night.

American Heritage

call it quits

To stop working or trying; quit.

American Heritage

call names

To speak to or about another in offensive terms.

American Heritage

Other Word Forms of Call

Noun

Singular:

call

Plural:

calls

Origin of Call

From Middle English callen, from Old English ceallian (“to call, shout”) and Old Norse kalla (“to call, shout”); both from Proto-Germanic *kalzōną (“to call, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *gal(o)s-, *glōs-, *golH-so- (“voice, cry”). Cognate with Scots call, caw, ca (“to call, cry, shout”), Dutch kallen (“to chat, talk”), German kallen (“to scream, talk loudly, talk too much”), Swedish kalla (“to call, refer to, beckon”), Norwegian kalle (“to call, name”), Icelandic kalla (“to call, shout, name”), Latin glōria (“fame, honour, glory”), Welsh galw (“to call, demand”), Polish głos (“voice”), Lithuanian gal̃sas (“echo”). More at glory.

From Wiktionary
Middle English callen probably from Old Norse kalla gal- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition