4 ms·

At some point when you go to extreme lengths to pick the softest wording possible you yourself become an accomplice, they didn't "summon", that word is better f

At some point when you go to extreme lengths to pick the softest wording possible you yourself become an accomplice, they didn't "summon", that word is better for fantasies where they summon spirits or beasts like shai-hulud, here the fitting word would be "forced" as in "Iran government forces families of exiled journalists to stop any criticism against them"

DocTomoe 9mo ago
The word summon comes from Anglo-French somundre and Old French somondre (or semondre), meaning "to call, send for, or notify". It derives from the Latin summonere, meaning "to remind privately, warn, or hint to". To summon is the correct word in this case. The fantasy meaning comes from thee power politics between one that summons (usually: a king) and the one being summoned (usually the serf).
- dwb 9mo ago
  Etymology is irrelevant to current meaning and understanding.
  - DocTomoe 8mo ago
    I sincerely doubt that if someone hears 'summon' today, they think about Dungeons and Dragons-style summoning of fantasy beings. They more likely hear 'to be made to appear in front of [a state power / a court / ...]" As such, current understanding is closely aligned to the etymological meaning.
    - vidarh 8mo ago
      Even summoning in fantasy tends to imply the entity being summoned has no choice in the matter. If anything, summoning in fantasy is usually stronger, in that there is a tendency for it to imply the entity is powerless to resist.
  - vidarh 8mo ago
    In this case, however, it reflect the current usage.
engineer_22 9mo ago
If you click the link you'll see the byline says "summoned and threatened"
swaits 9mo ago
[flagged]
karim79 9mo ago
I would prefer to be summoned and threatened, forced, or even exiled, than get outright assassinated by quadcopter, airstrike or sniper rifle (or something else). https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166481 https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166481 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_the_Gaza_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_...
- throwawayheui57 9mo ago
  No worries they did those (except the quadcopter I think) already. There’s no shortage of evil here or there.
- deleted 9mo ago
  [deleted]
vidarh 9mo ago
To summon someone implies force both in the "real world" use and in the mythological use. In the real world it generally means to order, with the implication that there are consequences to failing to appear, and the consequences in this case are clear from the juxtaposition of wanting to shut up exiled journalists and summoning their families. In mythology it typically implies incantations etc. forces the entity to appear. There's nothing soft about that wording. If anything "to summon" is often used to imply a level of disdain and lack of legitimate basis that is not implicit in "to order"

DocTomoe 9mo ago

The word summon comes from Anglo-French somundre and Old French somondre (or semondre), meaning "to call, send for, or notify". It derives from the Latin summonere, meaning "to remind privately, warn, or hint to". To summon is the correct word in this case. The fantasy meaning comes from thee power politics between one that summons (usually: a king) and the one being summoned (usually the serf).

dwb 9mo ago
Etymology is irrelevant to current meaning and understanding.
- DocTomoe 8mo ago
  I sincerely doubt that if someone hears 'summon' today, they think about Dungeons and Dragons-style summoning of fantasy beings. They more likely hear 'to be made to appear in front of [a state power / a court / ...]" As such, current understanding is closely aligned to the etymological meaning.
  - vidarh 8mo ago
    Even summoning in fantasy tends to imply the entity being summoned has no choice in the matter. If anything, summoning in fantasy is usually stronger, in that there is a tendency for it to imply the entity is powerless to resist.
- vidarh 8mo ago
  In this case, however, it reflect the current usage.

engineer_22 9mo ago

If you click the link you'll see the byline says "summoned and threatened"

swaits 9mo ago

[flagged]

karim79 9mo ago

I would prefer to be summoned and threatened, forced, or even exiled, than get outright assassinated by quadcopter, airstrike or sniper rifle (or something else). https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166481 https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166481 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_the_Gaza_war https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_...

throwawayheui57 9mo ago
No worries they did those (except the quadcopter I think) already. There’s no shortage of evil here or there.
deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]

vidarh 9mo ago

To summon someone implies force both in the "real world" use and in the mythological use. In the real world it generally means to order, with the implication that there are consequences to failing to appear, and the consequences in this case are clear from the juxtaposition of wanting to shut up exiled journalists and summoning their families. In mythology it typically implies incantations etc. forces the entity to appear. There's nothing soft about that wording. If anything "to summon" is often used to imply a level of disdain and lack of legitimate basis that is not implicit in "to order"