Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- the act of inviting.
- the written or spoken form with which a person is invited.
- something offered as a suggestion: an invitation to consider a business merger.
- attraction or incentive; allurement.
- a provocation: The speech was an invitation to rebellion.
adjective
noun
-
- the act of inviting, such as an offer of entertainment or hospitality
- (as modifier)an invitation dance; an invitation race
- the act of enticing or attracting; allurement
mid-15c., from Latin invitationem (nominative invitatio) “an invitation, incitement, challenge,” noun of action from past participle stem of invitare “invite, treat, entertain,” originally “be pleasant toward,” from in- “toward” (see in- (2)). Second element is obscure; Watkins suggests a suffixed form of root *weie- “to go after something, pursue with vigor,” and a connection to English gain (see venison). Meaning “the spoken or written form in which a person is invited” is from 1610s.