n. 1. The act of calling; -- usually with the voice, but often otherwise, as by signs, the sound of some instrument, or by writing; a summons; an entreaty; an invitation; as, a call for help; the bugle's call. “Call of the trumpet.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

I rose as at thy call, but found thee not. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A signal, as on a drum, bugle, trumpet, or pipe, to summon soldiers or sailors to duty. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Eccl.) An invitation to take charge of or serve a church as its pastor. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A requirement or appeal arising from the circumstances of the case; a moral requirement or appeal. [ 1913 Webster ]

Dependence is a perpetual call upon humanity. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Running into danger without any call of duty. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A divine vocation or summons. [ 1913 Webster ]

St. Paul himself believed he did well, and that he had a call to it, when he persecuted the Christians. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Vocation; employment. [ In this sense, calling is generally used. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A short visit; as, to make a call on a neighbor; also, the daily coming of a tradesman to solicit orders. [ 1913 Webster ]

The baker's punctual call. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Hunting) A note blown on the horn to encourage the hounds. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Naut.) A whistle or pipe, used by the boatswain and his mate, to summon the sailors to duty. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. (Fowling) The cry of a bird; also a noise or cry in imitation of a bird; or a pipe to call birds by imitating their note or cry. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. (Amer. Land Law) A reference to, or statement of, an object, course, distance, or other matter of description in a survey or grant requiring or calling for a corresponding object, etc., on the land. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. The privilege to demand the delivery of stock, grain, or any commodity, at a fixed, price, at or within a certain time agreed on. [ Brokers' Cant ] [ 1913 Webster ]

13. See Assessment, 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

At call, or
On call, liable to be demanded at any moment without previous notice; as money on deposit. --
Call bird, a bird taught to allure others into a snare. --
Call boy (a) A boy who calls the actors in a theater; a boy who transmits the orders of the captain of a vessel to the engineer, helmsman, etc. (b) A waiting boy who answers a cal, or cames at the ringing of a bell; a bell boy. --
Call note, the note naturally used by the male bird to call the female. It is artificially applied by birdcatchers as a decoy. Latham. --
Call of the house (Legislative Bodies), a calling over the names of members, to discover who is absent, or for other purposes; a calling of names with a view to obtaining the ayes and noes from the persons named. --
Call to the bar, admission to practice in the courts. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Called p. pr. & vb. n. Calling ] [ OE. callen, AS. ceallian; akin to Icel. & Sw. kalla, Dan. kalde, D. kallen to talk, prate, OHG. kallōn to call; cf. Gr. ghry`ein to speak, sing, Skr. gar to praise. Cf. Garrulous. ] 1. To command or request to come or be present; to summon; as, to call a servant. [ 1913 Webster ]

Call hither Clifford; bid him come amain Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To summon to the discharge of a particular duty; to designate for an office, or employment, especially of a religious character; -- often used of a divine summons; as, to be called to the ministry; sometimes, to invite; as, to call a minister to be the pastor of a church. [ 1913 Webster ]

Paul . . . called to be an apostle Rom. i. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Acts xiii. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To invite or command to meet; to convoke; -- often with together; as, the President called Congress together; to appoint and summon; as, to call a meeting of the Board of Aldermen. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now call we our high court of Parliament. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To give name to; to name; to address, or speak of, by a specifed name. [ 1913 Webster ]

If you would but call me Rosalind. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. Gen. i. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To regard or characterize as of a certain kind; to denominate; to designate. [ 1913 Webster ]

What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. Acts x. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To state, or estimate, approximately or loosely; to characterize without strict regard to fact; as, they call the distance ten miles; he called it a full day's work. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ The ] army is called seven hundred thousand men. Brougham. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To show or disclose the class, character, or nationality of. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

This speech calls him Spaniard. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To utter in a loud or distinct voice; -- often with off; as, to call, or call off, the items of an account; to call the roll of a military company. [ 1913 Webster ]

No parish clerk who calls the psalm so clear. Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To invoke; to appeal to. [ 1913 Webster ]

I call God for a witness. 2 Cor. i. 23 [ Rev. Ver. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

10. To rouse from sleep; to awaken. [ 1913 Webster ]

If thou canst awake by four o' the clock.
I prithee call me. Sleep hath seized me wholly. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To call a bond, to give notice that the amount of the bond will be paid. --
To call a party (Law), to cry aloud his name in open court, and command him to come in and perform some duty requiring his presence at the time on pain of what may befall him. --
To call back, to revoke or retract; to recall; to summon back. --
To call down, to pray for, as blessing or curses. --
To call forth, to bring or summon to action; as, to call forth all the faculties of the mind. --
To call in, (a) To collect; as, to call in debts or money; ar to withdraw from cirulation; as, to call in uncurrent coin. (b) To summon to one's side; to invite to come together; as, to call in neighbors. --
To call (any one) names, to apply contemptuous names (to any one). --
To call off, to summon away; to divert; as, to call off the attention; to call off workmen from their employment. --
To call out. (a) To summon to fight; to challenge. (b) To summon into service; as, to call out the militia. --
To call over, to recite separate particulars in order, as a roll of names. --
To call to account, to demand explanation of. --
To call to mind, to recollect; to revive in memory. --
To call to order, to request to come to order; as: (a) A public meeting, when opening it for business. (b) A person, when he is transgressing the rules of debate. --
To call to the bar, to admit to practice in courts of law. --
To call up. (a) To bring into view or recollection; as to call up the image of deceased friend. (b) To bring into action or discussion; to demand the consideration of; as, to call up a bill before a legislative body.

Syn. -- To name; denominate; invite; bid; summon; convoke; assemble; collect; exhort; warn; proclaim; invoke; appeal to; designate. -- To Call, Convoke, Summon. Call is the generic term; as, to call a public meeting. To convoke is to require the assembling of some organized body of men by an act of authority; as, the king convoked Parliament. To summon is to require attendance by an act more or less stringent anthority; as, to summon a witness. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To speak in loud voice; to cry out; to address by name; -- sometimes with to. [ 1913 Webster ]

You must call to the nurse. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The angel of God called to Hagar. Gen. xxi. 17. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make a demand, requirement, or request. [ 1913 Webster ]

They called for rooms, and he showed them one. Bunyan. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make a brief visit; also, to stop at some place designated, as for orders. [ 1913 Webster ]

He ordered her to call at the house once a week. Temple. [ 1913 Webster ]

To call for (a) To demand; to require; as, a crime calls for punishment; a survey, grant, or deed calls for the metes and bounds, or the quantity of land, etc., which it describes. (b) To give an order for; to request. “Whenever the coach stopped, the sailor called for more ale.” Marryat. --
To call on,
To call upon, (a) To make a short visit to; as, call on a friend. (b) To appeal to; to invite; to request earnestly; as, to call upon a person to make a speech. (c) To solicit payment, or make a demand, of a debt. (d) To invoke or play to; to worship; as, to call upon God. --
To call out To call or utter loudly; to brawl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Linnæus derived Calla fr. Gr. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_; a cock's wattles but cf. L. calla, calsa, name of an unknown plant, and Gr. kalo`s beautiful. ] (Bot.) A genus of plants, of the order Araceæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The common Calla of cultivation is Richardia Africana, belonging to another genus of the same order. Its large spathe is pure white, surrounding a fleshy spike, which is covered with minute apetalous flowers. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. subject to a demand for payment or redemption before the due date; -- of financial instruments; as, callable bonds. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Same as Callet. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A callat of boundless tongue. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a noisy boisterous parade.
Syn. -- callithump, callithump parade. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a noisy mock serenade (made by banging pans and kettles) to a newly married couple.
Syn. -- shivaree, chivaree, charivari, callithump. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. a return call, especially a telephone call. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. the recall of an employee to work after a layoff. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a bulletin board backstage in a theater. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ See Caul. ] A kind of head covering; a caul. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]