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The Origin of Subpoena
If you think you recognize the sub- in subpoena as the prefix meaning "under, beneath, below," you're on target. Subpoena arrived in Modern English (via the Middle English suppena) from the Latin sub poena, a combination of sub and poena, meaning "penalty." Other poena descendants in English include impunity ("freedom from penalty"), penal ("of or relating to punishment"), and even punish. There is also the verb subpoena, as in "Defense lawyers have subpoenaed several witnesses to the crime."
Synonyms
Examples of subpoena in a Sentence
Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 17 Apr. 2024
The suits are later rejected. 2020 | Trump forced to release tax records
July 9
Supreme Court rules 7-2 that Trump must comply with the subpoena and turn over his tax records.
—USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
Grand jury subpoenas were recently issued to the people who acted as fake electors in Arizona, including Kelli Ward, a former state Republican chairwoman.
—Danny Hakim, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Crow, a Texas real estate developer, did not receive a subpoena from Durbin, a spokesman for Crow said.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024
Last week, the financial watchdog sent subpoenas to three companies as part of its probe of the Ethereum Foundation, the ecosystem that works behind the Ethereum blockchain network.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has threatened Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with contempt of Congress if Willis does not comply with a congressional subpoena as part of the committee's investigation into her office's use of federal funds.
—John Parkinson, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2024
The subpoenas sought their testimony before a grand jury, and do not indicate Mayes might bring charges against them, according to Politico.
—Stacey Barchenger, The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2024
Two days later, the subpoena was officially delivered to Trump’s residence.
—Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
Graff was subpoenaed to answer questions by the New York Attorney General about the Trump Organization's finances, including the company's document retention policy and Trump's oversight of his financial statements.
—Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2024
Additionally, Gaetz was recently subpoenaed in a civil lawsuit surrounding the allegations.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
But it won’t be joined by a companion measure that would reinstate the auditor’s ability to issue subpoenas when auditing city contractors or partner agencies.
—Joe Rubino, The Denver Post, 3 Apr. 2024
But the state could lay groundwork by subpoenaing Trump for information about his assets.
—Michael R. Sisak, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024
But Trump's attorneys subpoenaed the documents in January, leading to the late receipt of the material.
—Graham Kates, CBS News, 15 Mar. 2024
Westerhout -- who also served as Trump's executive assistant for the first two-and-a-half years of his presidency -- was subpoenaed to testify by the Manhattan district attorney, according to her lawyer Jason Wright.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 8 Apr. 2024
The Bar subpoenaed Moon’s trust account and other financial records in August 2022.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 7 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'subpoena.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Subpoena.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subpoena. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
subpoena
1 of 2 noun
subpoena
2 of 2 verbNoun
from the Latin phrase sub poena "under penalty"; used as the beginning words of the order
Legal Definition
subpoena
1 of 2 nounsubpoena
2 of 2 transitive verbHarvard Law ReviewNoun
Latin sub poena under penalty
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