English
provoke
Provoke comes from Latin provocō ‘to call forth, summon’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocō‘call’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprovocōas prōvocāre‘to call forth, summon’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600provoquer
- Englishearliest quotation 1577provoke
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocō‘call’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEprovocōas prōvocāre‘to call forth, summon’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600provoquer
- Englishearliest quotation 1577provoke
Earliest quotation: 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, The Historie of Englande: “In the meane time it chaunced, that Marcus Papyrius…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-
vocabulary, revocation, convocation, 24 more
through Latin vocō ‘call’
invite, invitation, advocate, vocational, vie, vocation, vouch, invoke, irrevocable, revocable, 33 more
Today it means
verb To cause someone to become annoyed or angry.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ- / provoke