The term "wast beck call" refers to a traditional Cumbrian method of summoning farmers for a meeting. The spelling of this term can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), which represents the sounds of spoken language. "Wast" is pronounced /wɑːst/ and refers to an old English word meaning "west". "Beck" is pronounced /bɛk/ and means "stream" in Cumbrian dialect. "Call" is pronounced /kɔːl/ and refers to the act of summoning. Therefore, "wast beck call" means a call to farmers using a stream in the west of Cumbria.