subpoena
See also: subpœna
English
Alternative forms
- subpena
- subpœna
Etymology
First attested with this spelling in 1623 C.E., from earlier subpena, from Middle English sub pena, from Medieval Latin: sub (“under”) and poena (“penalty”), the beginning of the original subpoena used in the Court of Chancery.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /səˈpiːnə/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -iːnə
Noun
subpoena (plural subpoenas or subpoenae or subpoenæ)
- (law, historical) A writ requiring a defendant to appear in court to answer a plaintiff's claim.
- 1874, W.S. Gilbert, Trial by Jury:
- Summoned by a stern subpoena Edwin sued by Angelina Shortly will appear.
-
- (law) A writ requiring someone to appear in court to give testimony.
Usage notes
The most common plural form is subpoenas.[1] Subpoenae is a hypercorrection as the word is not derived from a Latin noun *subpœna, *subpœnæ, but from the Latin phrase sub pœna, and therefore has no Latin plural.[2]
Synonyms
- witness summons (British)
Derived terms
- subpoena duces tecum
- subpoena ad testificandum
- subpoena ad respondendum
Translations
writ requiring someone to appear in court to give testimony
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Verb
subpoena (third-person singular simple present subpoenas, present participle subpoenaing, simple past and past participle subpoenaed)
- (transitive) To summon with a subpoena.
- 1924, Herman Melville, chapter 10, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.:
- Why not subpoena as well the clerical proficients?
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Translations
to summon with a subpoena
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See also
- compel testimony
- contempt of court
References
- 1998, Burchfield, R. W., Fowler's modern English usage, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, OCLC 1036217964, page 748:
- Pl. subpoenas
- 2013 May 14, Bryan Garner, “LawProse Lesson #118 | LawProse”, in LawProse, retrieved 2022-01-02:
- Why isn’t the plural *subpoenae duces tecum? Subpoena is a singular English noun — it was never a Latin noun. Rather, the English word subpoena derived from the Latin phrase sub poena, meaning “under penalty” or “under pain.” The Oxford English Dictionary dates subpoena from the late 15th century. And the plural subpoenas appears in English law as early as 1509 in the title of a statute “for Subpoenas and Privy Seals.” That’s the only plural until the early 19th century when *subpoenae first appeared — in a misquotation from Coke’s Institutes (Coke actually wrote sub poena). So the false Latin plural *subpoenae is a hypercorrection and, in fact, not a Latin word at all.
Anagrams
- base upon
French
Alternative forms
- subpœna
Etymology
From English subpoena.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /syb.pe.na/
Noun
subpoena m (plural subpoenas)
- (Canadian and US law) subpoena