Etymograph

English

summon

Summon comes from Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti ‘to cause to think, make think’, and goes back to *men-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-1‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*monéyeti1‘to cause to think, make think’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsummonēre1
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sumundre1
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400somoundre1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1866summon1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English summon
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1866, Pierre Bigandet, The Life or Legend of Gaudama: “For securing the attainment of what he considered to…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*men-Wiktionary, English summon‘to think’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*monéyetiWiktionary, English summon‘to cause to think, make think’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsummonēreWiktionary, English summon
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400sumundreWiktionary, English summon
  5. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400somoundreWiktionary, English summon
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1866summonWiktionary, English summon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1866, Pierre Bigandet, The Life or Legend of Gaudama: “For securing the attainment of what he considered to…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think’

music, mind, money, amount, mental, remain, comment, permanent, mouth, mountain, mention, auto, museum, min, mount, mentor, mint, maya, dementia, monetary, amnesty, muse, eminent, menace, ming, prominence, mas, mandarin, mantra, imminent, mania, amnesia, mosaic, monk, manic, remnant, monastery, eminence, monte, mantis, 112 more

through Proto-Indo-European *monéyeti ‘to cause to think, make think’

monster, monitor, demonstration, muster, monument, monstrous, monstrosity, minter, demonstrative, admonition, admonish, 14 more

Another origin of summon

  1. English1500–presentsummons‘notice summoning someone to appear in court’
  2. Malaymodernsaman‘fine, financial penalty’
  3. Englishtodaysummon

This sense re-emerged in English as summon likely due to the erroneous belief that the original singular English word summons is plural.

Today it means

verb To call people together; to convene; to convoke.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “summon”. 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 *men- / summon

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