summons
summons Lexical Profile
summons Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An official order or legal writ requiring a person to appear in a court of law to answer a charge or give evidence.
"The company received a court summons after failing to pay its municipal taxes on time."
An authoritative command, call, or urgent request for someone to be present or to perform a duty.
"An unexpected summons from the university president interrupted the afternoon faculty meeting."
• verb
To serve someone with an official legal order to appear before a court of law or magistrate.
"The landlord was summonsed to appear before the housing tribunal regarding the building code violations."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although ending in '-s', 'summons' is a singular countable noun whose plural is 'summonses'. As a verb, 'summon' is the standard form in general prose, while 'summons' is used specifically in legal contexts to mean serving someone with a court writ.
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'somouns', borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Old French 'semonse' (a feminine past participle used as a noun), ultimately from Latin 'submonere', meaning 'to hint or privately warn' ('sub-' meaning 'under' + 'monere' meaning 'to warn').