CALL

I. verb Etymology: Middle English, from Old Norse kalla; akin to Old English hilde~a battle herald, Old High German kallōn to talk loudly, Old Church Slavic glasŭ voice Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. to speak in a loud distinct voice so as to be heard at a distance ; shout , to make a request or demand , to utter a characteristic note or cry, to get or try to get into communication by telephone , to make a demand in card games (as for a particular card or for a show of hands), to give the ~s for a square dance, to make a brief visit , transitive verb 1. a. to utter in a loud distinct voice, to announce or read loudly or authoritatively , to announce the play-by-play of (as a football game), b. to command or request to come or be present , to cause to come ; bring , to summon to a particular activity, employment, or office , to invite or command to meet ; convoke , to rouse from sleep or summon to get up, f. to give the order for ; bring into action , to manage by giving the signals or orders , g. to make a demand in bridge for (a card or suit), to require (a player) to show the hand in poker by making an equal bet, to challenge to make good on a statement, to charge with or censure for an offense , to attract (as game) by imitating the characteristic cry, to halt (as a baseball game) because of unsuitable conditions, to rule on the status of (as a pitched ball or a player's action) , to give the ~s for (a square dance), l. to demand payment of especially by formal notice , to demand presentation of (as a bond or option) for redemption, m. to get or try to get in communication with by telephone , to generate signals for (a telephone number) in order to reach the party to whom the number is assigned , to make a signal to in order to transmit a message , 2. to speak of or address by a specified name ; give a name to , b. to regard or characterize as of a certain kind ; consider , to estimate or consider for purposes of an estimate or for convenience , c. to describe correctly in advance of or without knowledge of the event ; predict , to name or specify in advance , to temporarily transfer control of computer processing to (as a subroutine or procedure), see: summon II. noun Date: 14th century 1. an act of ~ing with the voice ; shout , an imitation of the cry of a bird or other animal made to attract it, an instrument used for ~ing , the cry of an animal (as a bird), 2. a request or command to come or assemble, a summons or signal on a drum, bugle, or pipe, admission to the bar as a barrister, an invitation to become the minister of a church or to accept a professional appointment, a divine vocation or strong inner prompting to a particular course of action, a summoning of actors to rehearsal , the attraction or appeal of a particular activity, condition, or place , an order specifying the number of men to be inducted into the armed services during a specified period, the selection of a play in football, 3. demand , claim , need , justification , a demand for payment of money, an option to buy a specified amount of a security (as stock) or commodity (as wheat) at a fixed price at or within a specified time, an instance of asking for something ; request , roll ~ , a short usually formal visit, the name or thing ~ed , the act of ~ing in a card game, the act of ~ing on the telephone, a direction or a succession of directions for a square dance rhythmi~y ~ed to the dancers, a decision or ruling made by an official of a sports contest, a temporary transfer of control of computer processing to a particular set of instructions (as a subroutine or procedure)