Appellare

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A term derived from Latin meaning to call upon or summon formally
2. a word relating to the act of invoking authority or appealing in a legal context
3. a reference to the process of addressing someone or something in a specific way

Etymology: Latin "appellare" is built from "ad-," meaning "toward," and "pellere," meaning "to drive or push." Its earliest sense was physical: to drive something toward a place. It then came to mean calling out to someone, addressing or naming them, so the same verb could mean both calling a person by name and calling upon them. The legal sense grew from that idea of summoning. A party who called upon a higher authority to reconsider a decision was, in effect, driving the matter toward that authority. English received the idea through Old French "apeler," which is why the English "appeal" covers both the legal sense and the everyday sense of calling for help. The root "pellere" also survives in English words such as "compel," "impulse," and "repulse," all built on the same notion of driving or pushing.

Synonyms: appeal, call, name, invoke, address

Antonyms: ignore, reject, disregard