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to signal, summon, or direct by a gesture of the head or hand.
to lure; entice.
a nod, gesture, etc., that signals, directs, summons, indicates agreement, or the like.
contemporary examples

she beckoned to them, gesturing as if she were going to give them a treat.
hitler’s killer women revealed in new history wendy lower october 5, 2013

on the other hand, i’d come in an iron lung with snow tires if jon stewart beckoned.
requiem for a tough guy kurt andersen june 2, 2009

during the course of the party, charles monteith, one of the faber board, beckoned me out into the hall.
sylvia plath’s darkest sea: what an unveiled draft poem reveals olivia cole may 2, 2013

samaras saw me and, to the chagrin of security, beckoned me just before the start.
antonis samaras: new greek prime minister and predecessor share college ties jim warren june 18, 2012

last week emanuel was beckoned to head an existing but lagging effort.
rahm emanuel up against a teacher’s strike james warren september 9, 2012

historical examples

he beckoned to mr. weller and said, in a stern voice, “take his skates off!”
recitations for the social circle james clarence harvey

fouts, with a slip of paper in his hand, beckoned him from the door of his private office.
the spenders harry leon wilson

she beckoned to me, however, and i made haste to follow her.
adventures among books andrew lang

when, five minutes later, she beckoned him from the door of the barn, her eyes were red.
k mary roberts rinehart

nasmyth beckoned to laura and moved forward with gordon, and wheeler, who carried the battery.
the greater power harold bindloss

verb
to summon with a gesture of the hand or head
to entice or lure
noun
a summoning gesture
v.

old english gebecnian (west saxon beacnian) “to make a mute sign,” derivative of beacen “a sign, beacon,” from proto-germanic -bauknjan (cf. old saxon boknian, old high german bouhnen), from pie root -bha- “to shine” (see beacon). related: beckoned; beckoning. the noun is attested from 1718, from the verb.