subpoena.
A writ (“written order”) requiring someone to appear in court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding, as a witness to give testimony (a subpoena ad testificandum) or to produce evidence (subpoena duces tecum), in default of which the person may be punished.
Meaning & usage
A writ (“written order”) requiring someone to appear in court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding, as a witness to give testimony (a subpoena ad testificandum) or to produce evidence (subpoena duces tecum), in default of which the person may be punished.
A writ requiring a defendant to appear in court to answer a plaintiff's claim (a subpoena ad respondendum); in England and Wales, and Ireland, this writ was formerly issued by the Court of Chancery at the plaintiff's request to commence a suit, but the procedure was abolished in 1852.
A motive or thing which can compel or demand something, or summon someone.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Medieval Latin sub Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂ Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ)bor. Medieval Latin poena Middle English sub pena English subpoena The noun sense is derived from Late Middle English sub pena (“writ requiring defendant to appear in the Court of Chancery to answer a plaintiff’s claim or to be punished; writ requiring witness to appear in court”), from Latin sub (“under”) + poena (“penalty, punishment”), from the opening words of the writ. The verb sense is derived from the noun one.
To summon (someone) with a subpoena (noun sense 1) to appear in court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding, as a witness to give testimony or to produce evidence; to serve a subpoena on (someone).
To require (a document or other evidence) to be produced before a court, or at a deposition or some other legal proceeding.
To compel or summon (someone or something); to demand.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Medieval Latin sub Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂ Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ)bor. Medieval Latin poena Middle English sub pena English subpoena The noun sense is derived from Late Middle English sub pena (“writ requiring defendant to appear in the Court of Chancery to answer a plaintiff’s claim or to be punished; writ requiring witness to appear in court”), from Latin sub (“under”) + poena (“penalty, punishment”), from the opening words of the writ. The verb sense is derived from the noun one.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.