Revocacioun

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The formal cancellation or withdrawal of a grant, permission, or decision that had previously been given
2. An act of taking back or annulling a right, license, or prior order so that it no longer has force
3. The withdrawal or repeal of an earlier permission, promise, or ruling, rendering it void

Etymology: "Revocacioun" is a Middle English noun meaning the calling back or cancelling of a grant, licence or decision. It came into English from Old French "revocation", which in turn was borrowed from Latin "revocatio", a noun built from "revocare", "to call back". The Latin verb is itself a compound of "re-", "back", and "vocare", "to call", the same root that gives English "vocal" and "vocation". The spelling with "-oun" and the "-cioun" ending reflects the Anglo-Norman and Middle English treatment of French and Latin endings, and it is the form Chaucer and his contemporaries would have written. The word has since been modernised to "revocation", which keeps the same sense.