Evocator

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or entity that elicits strong emotions or recollections in others can profoundly influence their thoughts or feelings
2. An individual or item that summons memories and emotions, thereby impacting the psyche of observers or participants
3. A person who brings forth powerful emotions or recollections in others, affecting their mental state

Etymology: Before it described a person who stirs feelings, the root idea was literal summoning. Latin "evocare" joined "ex-," meaning "out," with "vocare," "to call," which itself comes from "vox," "voice." Roman writers used it for calling people out, such as summoning troops, and for calling spirits up from the dead. English "evoke" kept that sense of bringing something into presence, and it was long used for conjuring spirits. The shift to emotion and memory came when the thing being summoned became a feeling or recollection rather than a ghost. "Evocator" is the agent form, a caller-forth, so an evocator is someone who calls up feelings or memories in another person.

Synonyms: stimulator, arouser, provoker