Talk:call

Sports

Should call from sports be included. I can think of two kinds; sports announcing "calling the game" and an umpire's call. "What's the call Ump?", "(tennis) The linesman's call was 'out'." -- Mjquin id 03:41, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

καλέω

I get the coincidental similarity, but should we be showing non-related words in the Etymology sections? Could this not be misleading? καλέω should rightfully appear under English low. Glory can be added to call as a classical cognate. Leasnam 20:35, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

RFV

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Rfv-sense: A work shift which requires one to be available when requested (see on call). Was first listed at WT:RFC#call without reply. So I've listed it here. I know you can be on call, but I don't know if such a shift is called a call. Sounds totally weird. Any other dictionaries list this? As it might be hard to cite because of the numerous other meanings of 'call'. Mglovesfun (talk) 21:01, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

I'll bet the contributor is thinking of the use of "call" in "call shift" or "on-call shift". "Call shift" seems to possibly merit an entry, but I doubt that there are many uses of "call" in the RfV'ed sense. DCDuring TALK 21:23, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

I've added some cites. google books:"night of call" has a few dozen more. In my experience it's uncountable, so you wouldn't refer to a shift as a call, but rather, simply as "call". In other respects it sometimes blurs with other senses of "call"; for example, it's frequently used with the verb "take" in a way that seems more reminiscent of "take a call" than "take a shift" (in that you can readily say "while taking plastic surgery call", for example, whereas ?"while taking the night shift" is a bit awkward). And one cite (which I didn't add) even used it with the verb "answer" (though that one I think might be an error or idiom blend, because otherwise it doesn't match my understanding of how call works; but my experience is both limited and strictly secondhand, so I really can't say for sure). —Ruakh_TALK 22:18, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Does the first attestation of this in 1978 make call shift (c. 1990) SoP? DCDuring TALK 23:03, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

I have heard theatre workers who must built sets say "I have a work call tomorrow" about as often as "I have work call tomorrow". I think these [1] [2] may be examples of "a call" and this [3] may be an example of "calls". - -sche 08:58, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Cited by Ruakh; I added what I think is another citation (used in the theatrical context I know it from). - -sche (discuss) 19:28, 10 August 2011 (UTC)

RFC discussion: November 2010

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call

rfc-sense: "(medicine) A work shift which requires one to be available when requested (see on call)." Includes the now-customary invisible comment <!--Any service profession, right? Should be at [[on-call]]?-->. Per the entry itself, is this actually called a 'call'? You can be on-call, no doubt, but the call doesn't refer to shift but being contacted (called). I'd post this at RFV but perhaps I just don't know the sense and other people too. Oh and it's certainly not restricted to medicine, again, per the entry itself. Mglovesfun (talk) 00:28, 14 November 2010 (UTC)

Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‎(“to call, shout”)

Should this tie back to Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- ‎(“to call, shout”) ? — This unsigned comment was added by 71.9.236.229 (talk) at 07:56, 21 August 2016 (UTC).

Hebrew etymology קול (kol)

Is there any evidence that the hebrew word kol קול which means voice has had an influence on the English word Call ? I know that the King James Version of the Bible introduced many Greek and Hebrew words into English. Is it possible that one of the word-senses for call were influenced? Bcent1234 (talk) 19:04, 5 September 2016 (UTC)

No, there's no evidence of this. Also, there isn't even enough of a semantic connection. --WikiTiki89 12:25, 6 September 2016 (UTC)

called away: executed before maturity

used to describe a bond that is retired before maturity or stock that must be sold because of the exercise of an option
Microsoft® Encarta® 2009

--Backinstadiums (talk) 15:52, 8 May 2020 (UTC)

call in a bomb threat

Is call in used transitively in call in a bomb threat? --Backinstadiums (talk) 12:22, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

@Backinstadiums: Yes. Equinox ◑ 12:40, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

@Equinox: Then the first meaning in call in should be labeled (in)transitive right? --Backinstadiums (talk) 13:00, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

 Done Added sense covering bomb threats. Equinox ◑ 15:39, 22 May 2020 (UTC)

call attention to

To draw others' awareness to someone or something.
That garish new paint color really calls attention to all the imperfections in the walls.
https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/call+attention+to

--Backinstadiums (talk) 16:11, 4 October 2020 (UTC)

pay a call

To go to the toilet; to leave to go to the toilet. --Backinstadiums (talk) 17:38, 3 April 2021 (UTC)

Call election

As non-native English speaker I would like to suggest an explanation of the expression "to call an election". Does it mean to cancel an election, does it mean to open or invite for an election or does it mean to declare a result without a (democratic) election? 37.120.194.149 12:46, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

Calling an election is announcing that we will have one. Equinox ◑ 13:06, 25 September 2023 (UTC)

Yeah, in general it can mean either announcing there'll be one ("called an election for next year", "called the election for no other reason than that they liked their chances of winning a majority"), or "calling it" for one of the candidates i.e. announcing that you've seen enough evidence to conclude that candidate won ("called the election for Bush at 2:16 in the morning"). - -sche (discuss) 01:32, 26 September 2023 (UTC)