What does call mean?

What does call mean?. The world's largest and most trusted free online dictionary: definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more.

What does call mean? - The Free Dictionary

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[n] a telephone connection(she reported several anonymous calls he placed a phone call to London he heard the phone ringing but didn't want to take the call)[v] assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to(They named their son David The new school was named after the famous Civil Rig

call

call - The Free Dictionary

[n] a telephone connection
(she reported several anonymous calls he placed a phone call to London he heard the phone ringing but didn't want to take the call)

[v] assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
(They named their son David The new school was named after the famous Civil Rights leader)

[n] a special disposition (as if from a divine source) to pursue a particular course
(he was disappointed that he had not heard the Call)

[v] ascribe a quality to or give a name of a common noun that reflects a quality
(He called me a bastard She called her children lazy and ungrateful)

[n] a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
(the speaker was interrupted by loud cries from the rear of the audience)

[v] get or try to get into communication (with someone) by telephone
(I tried to call you all night Take two aspirin and call me in the morning)

[n] a demand especially in the phrase
(the call of duty)

[v] utter a sudden loud cry
(she cried with pain when the doctor inserted the needle I yelled to her from the window but she couldn't hear me)

[n] the characteristic sound produced by a bird
(a bird will not learn its song unless it hears it at an early age)

[v] order, request, or command to come
(She was called into the director's office Call the police!)

[n] a brief social visit
(senior professors' wives no longer make afternoon calls on newcomers the characters in Henry James' novels are forever paying calls on each other, usually in the parlor of some residence)

[v] pay a brief visit
(The mayor likes to call on some of the prominent citizens)

[n] a demand by a broker that a customer deposit enough to bring his margin up to the minimum requirement

[v] call a meeting; invite or command to meet
(The Wannsee Conference was called to discuss the `Final Solution' The new dean calls meetings every week)

[n] a demand for a show of hands in a card game
(after two raises there was a call)

[v] read aloud to check for omissions or absentees
(Call roll)

[n] a request
(many calls for Christmas stories not many calls for buggywhips)

[v] send a message or attempt to reach someone by radio, phone, etc.; make a signal to in order to transmit a message
(Hawaii is calling! A transmitter in Samoa was heard calling)

[n] an instruction that interrupts the program being executed
(Pascal performs calls by simply giving the name of the routine to be executed)

[v] utter a characteristic note or cry
(bluejays called to one another)

[n] a visit in an official or professional capacity
(the pastor's calls on his parishioners the salesman's call on a customer)

[v] stop or postpone because of adverse conditions, such as bad weather
(call a football game)

[n] (sports) the decision made by an umpire or referee
(he was ejected for protesting the call)

[v] greet, as with a prescribed form, title, or name
(He always addresses me with `Sir' Call me Mister She calls him by first name)

[n] the option to buy a given stock (or stock index or commodity future) at a given price before a given date

[v] make a stop in a harbour
(The ship will call in Honolulu tomorrow)

[v] demand payment of (a loan)
(Call a loan)

[v] make a demand, as for a card or a suit or a show of hands
(He called his trump)

[v] give the calls (to the dancers) for a square dance

[v] indicate a decision in regard to
(call balls and strikes behind the plate)

[v] make a prediction about; tell in advance
(Call the outcome of an election)

[v] require the presentation of for redemption before maturation
(Call a bond)

[v] challenge (somebody) to make good on a statement; charge with or censure for an offense
(He deserves to be called on that)

[v] declare in the capacity of an umpire or referee
(call a runner out)

[v] lure by imitating the characteristic call of an animal
(Call ducks)

[v] order or request or give a command for
(The unions called a general strike for Sunday)

[v] order, summon, or request for a specific duty or activity, work, role
(He was already called 4 times for jury duty They called him to active military duty)

[v] utter in a loud voice or announce
(He called my name The auctioneer called the bids)

[v] challenge the sincerity or truthfulness of
(call the speaker on a question of fact)

[v] consider or regard as being
(I would not call her beautiful)

[v] rouse somebody from sleep with a call
(I was called at 5 A.M. this morning)

Other vocabulary

c, c and w, c battery, c clef, c compiler, c horizon, c major, c major scale, c program, c-clamp, c-horizon, c-note, c-ration, c-reactive protein, c-section, c. d. gibson, c. diphtheriae, c. h. best, c. k. ogden, c. northcote parkinson, c. p. snow, c. psittaci, c. s. forester, c. s. lewis, c. trachomatis, c. vann woodward, c. w. post, c.e., c.o.d., c.p.u., a, a battery, a bit, a capella singing, a cappella, a cappella singing, a couple of, a few, a fortiori, a good deal, a great deal, a horizon, a hundred times, a kempis, a la carte, a la mode, a level, a little, a lot, a million times, a posteriori, a priori, a trifle, a'man, a-bomb, a-horizon, a-line, a-list, a-ok, a-okay

Dictionary

A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by consonantal root for Semitic languages or radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies, pronunciations, translation, etc. It is a lexicographical reference that shows inter-relationships among the data.

A broad distinction is made between general and specialized dictionaries. Specialized dictionaries include words in specialist fields, rather than a complete range of words in the language. Lexical items that describe concepts in specific fields are usually called terms instead of words, although there is no consensus whether lexicology and terminology are two different fields of study. In theory, general dictionaries are supposed[citation needed] to be semasiological, mapping word to definition, while specialized dictionaries are supposed to be onomasiological, first identifying concepts and then establishing the terms used to designate them. In practice, the two approaches are used for both types. There are other types of dictionaries that do not fit neatly into the above distinction, for instance bilingual (translation) dictionaries, dictionaries of synonyms (thesauri), and rhyming dictionaries. The word dictionary (unqualified) is usually understood to refer to a general purpose monolingual dictionary.

There is also a contrast between prescriptive or descriptive dictionaries; the former reflect what is seen as correct use of the language while the latter reflect recorded actual use. Stylistic indications (e.g. "informal" or "vulgar") in many modern dictionaries are also considered by some to be less than objectively descriptive.

The first recorded dictionaries date back to Sumerian times around 2300 BCE, in the form of bilingual dictionaries, and the oldest surviving monolingual dictionaries are Chinese dictionaries c. 3rd century BCE. The first purely English alphabetical dictionary was A Table Alphabeticall, written in 1604, and monolingual dictionaries in other languages also began appearing in Europe at around this time. The systematic study of dictionaries as objects of scientific interest arose as a 20th-century enterprise, called lexicography, and largely initiated by Ladislav Zgusta. The birth of the new discipline was not without controversy, with the practical dictionary-makers being sometimes accused by others of having an "astonishing" lack of method and critical-self reflection.