Provoke
late Middle English (also in the sense ‘invoke, summon’): from Old French provoquer, from Latin provocare ‘challenge’, from pro- ‘forth’ + vocare ‘to call’.
wiktionary
Borrowed from Middle French provoquer, from Old French, from Latin prōvocāre. Doublet of provocate.
etymonline
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.
