The professor accepted an invitation to give a lecture.
Tips
usage
邀 is most often seen in 邀请 (yāoqǐng, to invite formally), 应邀 (yìngyāo, at someone's invitation), 邀约 (yāoyuē, an invitation/appointment). More formal than the casual 请 alone.
Bottom-left walking radical - the contracted form of 辵, indexing radical for 邀. Three strokes that wrap under and to the left, depicting motion along a path. Anchors 邀 in the going/coming family alongside 进 (enter), 退 (retreat), 送 (send), 迎 (welcome). The radical conveys the literal motion: going out to fetch someone.
Upper-right phonetic 敫 - supplies the sound (jiǎo → yāo, palatal-glottal shift, same series as 徼 jiǎo, 缴 jiǎo, 激 jī). 敫 itself is rare in standalone use but appears reliably as the phonetic in this small family. Combined image of 邀: walking out (辶) with a call (敫) to invite - going to fetch the guest in person.
