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e·voke (ĭ-vōk)
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tr.v. e·voked, e·vok·ing, e·vokes
1. To give rise to; draw forth; produce: words that evoked a smile; actions that evoked mistrust.
2. To call to mind, as by suggestion, association, or reference: songs that evoke old memories; a speech that evoked the words of Jefferson.
3. To create anew, especially by means of the imagination: a novel that accurately evokes the Depression.
4. To summon by magical or supernatural power; conjure.
[Latin ēvocāre : ē-, ex-, ex- + vocāre, to call; see wekw- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
evo·ca·ble (ĕvə-kə-bəl, ĭ-vōkə-) adj.
Synonyms: evoke, educe, elicit
These verbs mean to draw forth or bring out something latent, hidden, or unexpressed: a smell that evoked childhood memories; words that educed powerful emotions in the listeners; tried to elicit the truth from the reluctant witness.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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