Phrase origin: Why do we "call" functions?

Somewhat less frequently, I also hear "invoke" or "execute", which is more verbose but also more generic.

Incidentally, I find strange misuses of "call" ("calling a command", "calling a button") one of the more grating phrases used by ESL CS students.

> strange misuses of "call"

My favourite (least favourite?) is using “call” with “return”. On more than one occasion I’ve heard:

“When we call the return keyword, the function ends.”

I remember someone in university talking about the if function (which ostensibly takes one boolean argument).