revoke
UK[rɪˈvəʊk]US[rɪˈvoʊk]
v
to officially cancel the effect of a decision, law, or document so that it no longer has any legal force
v
to officially state that a permission, right, or offer is no longer valid
Morpheme Breakdown
re
voke
re
back, again
voke
to call
Etymology
the word "revoke" entered english in the late middle english period from the old french 'revocer', which itself derived from the latin 'revocare'. this latin verb is a compound of the prefix 're-' (meaning "back") and 'vocare' (meaning "to call"). the literal sense is "to call back" or "to summon back". this concrete meaning evolved logically into the modern legal and formal abstract sense of calling back an authority, privilege, or decision, thereby cancelling or annulling it. the semantic journey reflects a shift from physically recalling a person or thing to the metaphorical recalling of a legal status or permission.
Analysis
Structure: re (back, again) + voke (to call)
re: latin origin, a prefix meaning "back" or "again".
voke: from latin 'vocare', meaning "to call". the spelling 'voke' is a direct substring of the modern english word.
Examples
the government decided to revoke his citizenship.
her driver's license was revoked after the serious accident.
the company reserves the right to revoke the offer at any time.