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Origin and history of provoke

provoke(v.)

late 14c., provoken, in medicine, "to induce" (sleep, vomiting, etc.), "to stimulate" (appetite), from Old French provoker, provochier (12c., Modern French provoquer) and directly from Latin provocare "call forth, challenge," from pro "forth" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward") + vocare "to call," which is related to vox (genitive vocis) "voice" (from PIE root *wekw- "to speak"). Related: Provoked; provoking. The general sense of "urge, incite, stimulate to action" is from c. 1400.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to provoke

provoking(adj.)

1520s, "that incites or instigates," present-participle adjective from provoke. Meaning "irritating, frustrating, having the power or quality of exciting resentment" is attested from 1640s. Related: Provokingly.

provocate(v.)

"to provoke, call forth," early 15c., provocaten, rare then and obsolete now, from Latin provocatus, past participle of provocare "to call out" (see provoke). Related: Provocated; provocating.

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provocation
c. 1400, provocacioun, "incitement, urging," from Old French provocacion (12c.) and directly from Latin provocationem (nominative provocatio) "a calling forth, a summoning, a challenge," noun of action from past-participle stem of provocare "to call out" (see provoke). Specifical
provocative
mid-15c., "eliciting," from Old French provocatif (15c.) and directly from Late Latin provocativus "calling forth," from provocat-, past-participle stem of Latin provocare (see provoke). Specifically "serving or tending to excite or stimulate sexual desire" from 1620s. Related: P
kindle
c. 1200, cundel, "to set fire to, to start on fire," probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse kynda "to kindle, to light a fire," Swedish quindla "kindle," all of uncertain origin, + frequentative suffix -le. Figurative use (of feelings, passions, etc.) is from c. 13
solicitation
vexation, disturbance, instigation," noun of action from past-participle stem of solicitare "to disturb, rouse, stimulate, provoke...
taunt
(implied in tauntingly), possibly [Skeat] from French tanter, tenter "to tempt, try, provoke," variant of tempter "to try...
salacious
It is attested earlier in the later-rare sense of "tending to provoke lust" (1640s)....
defiance
Old French desfiance "challenge, declaration of war," from desfiant, present participle of desfier "to challenge, defy, provoke...
lure
early 14c., "something which allures or entices, an attraction" (a figurative use), originally the name of a device for recalling a hawk, from Anglo-French lure, Old French loirre "device used to recall hawks, lure," from Frankish *lothr or some other Germanic source, from Proto-
rule
c. 1200, "principle or maxim governing conduct, formula to which conduct must be conformed" from Old French riule, Norman reule "rule, custom, (religious) order" (in Modern French partially re-Latinized as règle), from Vulgar Latin *regula, from Latin regula "straight stick, bar,
pick
early 13c., picken "to peck;" c. 1300, piken "to work with a pick, to dig up," probably representing a fusion of Old English *pician "to prick," (implied by picung "a piercing, pricking," an 8c. gloss on Latin stigmata) with Old Norse pikka "to prick, peck," both from a Germanic

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