Origins
The verb 'convoke' entered English in the 1590s from French 'convoquer,' itself from Latin 'convocāre,' meaning 'to call together.' The Latin word is composed of the prefix 'con-' (together, with) and the verb 'vocāre' (to call), from PIE *wekʷ- (to speak, to voice). Among the English verbs built from Latin 'vocāre,' 'convoke' is the most narrowly institutional: it refers specifically to summoning people to a formal assembly or meeting, and it has resisted broadening into figurative or casual use.
In classical Latin, 'convocāre' was the standard verb for assembling deliberative bodies. The Roman Senate was convoked by a magistrate with the power to do so — typically a consul, praetor, or tribune. The 'convocātiō' of the Senate was a formal act with legal significance: business conducted at a meeting that had not been properly convoked could be challenged. The verb also applied to military musters, religious assemblies, and any gathering that required an authoritative summons.
The word's English history is closely tied to ecclesiastical and academic institutions. The 'Convocation' of the English Church refers to the provincial assemblies of Canterbury and York, which have met since the Anglo-Saxon period to discuss church governance. These bodies are among the oldest continuous deliberative assemblies in the English-speaking world, and their name — from Latin 'convocātiō' — reflects their origin as gatherings of clergy 'called together' by their archbishop. The Convocation of Canterbury, in particular, was for centuries the body through which the English clergy taxed themselves, a power they retained independently of Parliament until 1664.
Development
In universities, 'convocation' has a related but distinct meaning. At Oxford, the Convocation is the assembly of all members of the university who hold the MA degree or higher — a body that retains certain formal powers, including the election of the Chancellor and the Professor of Poetry. At many North American universities, 'convocation' refers to the ceremony at which degrees are conferred, preserving the idea of a formal assembly summoned for an institutional purpose.
The noun 'convocation' actually appeared in English (c. 1382) more than two centuries before the verb 'convoke' (1593), which is unusual — typically verbs precede their derived nouns. This ordering reflects the fact that 'convocation' entered English directly from Latin through ecclesiastical usage, while the verb was borrowed later from French when there was a perceived need for a formal synonym for 'call together' or 'assemble.'
Among its sibling '-voke' verbs, 'convoke' is distinguished by its emphasis on collectivity. Where 'provoke' calls forth (an individual to action), 'evoke' calls out (a memory or feeling), 'revoke' calls back (a privilege or decree), and 'invoke' calls upon (a power or authority), 'convoke' calls together (a group of people). The prefix 'con-' specifies the direction of the calling as convergent — multiple voices being summoned to a single point.
Latin Roots
The word remains formal and somewhat literary in modern English. One convokes a parliament, a council, a synod, or a congress; one does not convoke a dinner party or a casual meeting. This register restriction reflects the word's institutional origins and its association with bodies that have the power to make binding decisions. The less formal synonym 'convene' (from Latin 'convenīre,' to come together) has claimed most everyday contexts, leaving 'convoke' for the most solemn occasions.
Spanish 'convocar' retains broader use than its English cognate — in Spanish, one can 'convocar' a strike (convocar una huelga), an election (convocar elecciones), or a competition (convocar un concurso), uses that in English would be expressed with 'call' rather than 'convoke.' This divergence illustrates how cognates from the same Latin root can develop different ranges of formality across languages.