capias

noun

ca·​pi·​as ˈkā-pē-əs How to pronounce capias (audio)
: an arrest warrant

Examples of capias in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web She was arrested and jailed on a civil order called a capias for repeatedly refusing Moukawsher’s orders requiring her to cooperate with a trustee appointed to close her law practice and prohibiting her from withdrawing money from a client account. Hartford Courant, 6 June 2022 Videos of three days worth of court proceedings obtained by cleveland.com and accompanying court records confirm that Carr issued multiple capiases -- the legal term for an arrest warrant -- and placed arrest bonds on several of them. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 21 Mar. 2020 Even without the capias, whether the Sheriff’s Office should have known to hold Vail remains in dispute. Rafael Olmeda, sun-sentinel.com, 7 June 2019 Without a capias, jail officials had no indication there was any reason to hold Vail once the original charge was dropped, so he was freed from jail. Rafael Olmeda, sun-sentinel.com, 19 June 2019 The Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail, faulted the clerk for failing to provide a capias. Rafael Olmeda, sun-sentinel.com, 19 June 2019 He was also booked on four court capias warrants, generally issued for failure to appear in court. Diana Samuels, NOLA.com, 5 Jan. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'capias.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin, literally, you should seize, from capere to take — more at heave entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of capias was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near capias

Cite this Entry

“Capias.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/capias. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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