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Subpoena: meaning, definitions and examples

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subpoena

 

[ səˈpiːnə ]

Noun / Verb
Context #1 | Noun

legal document

A subpoena is a legal document that requires a person to testify in a court case or to produce evidence relevant to a legal proceeding.

Synonyms

citation, summons, writ

Examples of usage

  • The judge issued a subpoena for the witness to appear in court.
  • The lawyer served a subpoena on the company to produce the financial records.
Context #2 | Verb

legal action

To subpoena means to summon someone by a legal document to testify or provide evidence in a court case.

Synonyms

cite, compel, summon

Examples of usage

  • The attorney plans to subpoena the expert witness for the trial.
  • The prosecutor subpoenaed the documents for the investigation.

Translations

Translations of the word "subpoena" in other languages:

🇵🇹 convocação judicial

🇮🇳 समन

🇩🇪 Vorladung

🇮🇩 surat panggilan

🇺🇦 судова повістка

🇵🇱 wezwanie sądowe

🇯🇵 召喚状

🇫🇷 assignation

🇪🇸 citación

🇹🇷 mahkeme celbi

🇰🇷 소환장

🇸🇦 استدعاء

🇨🇿 soudní předvolání

🇸🇰 súdne predvolanie

🇨🇳 传票

🇸🇮 sodni poziv

🇮🇸 stefna

🇰🇿 сотқа шақыру қағазы

🇬🇪 სასამართლო მოწვევა

🇦🇿 məhkəmə çağırışı

🇲🇽 citatorio

Etymology

The word 'subpoena' originated from Latin, where 'sub' means under and 'poena' means penalty. It first appeared in English in the 15th century and has been used in legal contexts ever since.

Word Frequency Rank

Ranked #11,282, this word falls into high-advanced vocabulary. It appears less frequently but is valuable for expressing precise meanings in specific contexts.