Convocating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Gathering or summoning a group of people together formally, usually for a meeting, assembly or council
2. Bringing members of a body together by formal call, such as when a court, synod or council is assembled
3. Calling a assembly of people to meet at a set time and place, often on the authority of an official or governing body

Etymology: "Convocating" is the present participle of "convocate," a verb that English borrowed directly from the Latin "convocatus," the past participle of "convocare," meaning "to call together." The Latin verb is built from "com-," meaning "together," and "vocare," meaning "to call," so the core idea is calling people together into one place. That same pair of roots gives English "convoke," which is a doublet of "convocate": the two words descend from the same Latin source but reached English by different routes, one as a direct borrowing and the other through French. The meaning has stayed close to its origin. Where "convoke" is the more common of the two today, "convocate" keeps the sense of a deliberate summons, the calling of a formal gathering such as an assembly, a council or a meeting. Used in a sentence, the participle describes the act of gathering those people, with the summoning itself as the focus rather than the gathering that results.

Synonyms: convening, convoking, summoning, assembling

Antonyms: dispersing, adjourning, dismissing