# call

> English word · Verb · IPA /kɔːl/ · frequency rank #287

## Definitions
1. To reach out with one's voice.
2. To reach out with one's voice.
3. To reach out with one's voice.
4. To reach out with one's voice.
5. To reach out with one's voice.
6. To reach out with one's voice.
7. To reach out with one's voice.
8. To visit.
9. To visit.
10. To visit.
11. To name, identify, or describe.
12. To name, identify, or describe.
13. To name, identify, or describe.
14. To name, identify, or describe.
15. To name, identify, or describe.
16. To declare, or declare in favor of, a predicted or actual result.
17. To declare, or declare in favor of, a predicted or actual result.
18. To declare, or declare in favor of, a predicted or actual result.
19. To declare, or declare in favor of, a predicted or actual result.
20. To declare, or declare in favor of, a predicted or actual result.
21. Direct or indirect use of the voice.
22. Direct or indirect use of the voice.
23. Direct or indirect use of the voice.
24. Direct or indirect use of the voice.
25. Direct or indirect use of the voice.
26. Direct or indirect use of the voice.
27. To require, demand.
28. To cause to be verbally subjected to.
29. To lay claim to an object or role which is up for grabs.
30. To announce the early extinction of a debt by prepayment, usually at a premium.
31. To demand repayment of a loan.
32. To jump to (another part of a program); to perform some operation, returning to the original point on completion.

## Etymology
From Middle English callen, from Old English ċeallian (“to call, shout”) and Old Norse kalla (“to call; shout; refer to as; name”); both from Proto-Germanic *kalzōną (“to call, shout”), from Proto-Indo-European *golH-so- (“voice, cry”), from *gel(H)- (“to vocalize, call, shout”).
Cognates
* Scots call, caw, ca (“to call, cry, shout”)
* Dutch kallen (“to chat, talk”)
* German Low German kallen (“to speak, talk”)
* German kallen (“to call”)
* Swedish kalla (“to call, refer to, beckon”)
* Norwegian kalle (“to call, name”)
* Danish kalde (“to call, name”)
* Icelandic kalla (“to call, shout, name”)
* Welsh galw (“to call, demand”)
* Polish głos (“voice”)
* Lithuanian gal̃sas (“echo”)
* Russian голос (golos, “voice”)
* Albanian gjuhë (“language, tongue”).

## Easily confused with
- **Cl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cl)
- **can** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-can)
- **car** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-car)
- **cat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cat)
- **cap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cap)
- **cam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cam)
- **col** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-col)
- **cas** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cas)
- **Cao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cao)
- **cpl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cpl)
- **CFL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cfl)
- **cel** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cel)
- **cay** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cay)
- **CDL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-cdl)
- **CLP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-clp)
- **CLC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-clc)
- **CSL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-csl)
- **Clo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-clo)
- **caw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-caw)
- **care** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/call-vs-care)

## Common misspellings (3)
`acll`, `ccall`, `clal`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/call