Etymograph

English

provocation

Provocation comes from Latin prōvocō ‘to call forth, summon’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocō1‘call’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōvocō2‘to call forth, summon’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōvocātiō2
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400provocacion2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500provocacioun2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2007provocation2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin provoco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English provocation
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Daniel J. Wakin, City Opera Lures Director From Paris: “The Salzburg Festival stunned the musical world by hiring…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wokʷ-Wiktionary, Latin provocoreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvocōWiktionary, Latin provoco‘call’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEprōvocōWiktionary, English provocation‘to call forth, summon’
  4. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEprōvocātiōWiktionary, English provocation
  5. Old Frenchc. 842–1400provocacionWiktionary, English provocation
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500provocaciounWiktionary, English provocation
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2007provocationWiktionary, English provocation. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2007, Daniel J. Wakin, City Opera Lures Director From Paris: “The Salzburg Festival stunned the musical world by hiring…”

Equivalent to provoke + -ation

Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-

Latin vocō ‘call’

Latin provocō ‘to call forth, summon’

Middle French provoquer

English provoke

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-

vocabulary, 25 more

through Latin vocō ‘call’

invite, advocate, invitation, vie, invoke, vouch, vocational, irrevocable, revocation, invocation, convocation, revocable, 31 more

Today it means

noun The act of provoking, inciting or annoying someone into doing something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “provocation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin provoco. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ- / provocation

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