summons

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsʌ.mənz/

Etymology 1

From Middle English somouns (“order or command to do something”), borrowed from Old French sumunce (modern French semonce), from Vulgar Latin *summonsa, a noun use of the feminine past participle of summoneō, summonēre (“to summon”).

Noun

summons (plural summonses)

1. A call to do something, especially to come.
   • 1630, John Hayward, The Life and Raigne of King Edward VI:

     He sent to summon the seditious, and to offer pardon […] ; but neither summons nor pardon was any thing regarded.

   • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the Most Learned, Reverend and Pious Dr. H. Hammond:

     this summons […] unfit either to dispute or disobey

   • 1818, Henry Hallam, View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages:

     special summonses by the king

2. (law) A notice summoning someone to appear in court, as a defendant, juror or witness.
3. (military) A demand for surrender.

Derived terms

• alias summons
• pluries summons
• writ of summons

 

Descendants

• → Bengali: সমন (śomon)
• → Cebuano: sumon
• → Malay: saman
  • → English: saman
  • → English: summon

Translations

call to do something, especially to come

• Arabic: اِسْتِدْعَاء m (istidʕāʔ)
• Azerbaijani: çağırış (az)
• Belarusian: выкліка́нне n (vyklikánnje), вы́клік m (výklik), вы́заў m (výzaŭ)
• Bulgarian: при́зив (bg) m (príziv)
• Catalan: citació (ca) f
• Czech: výzva (cs) f
• Dutch: oproep (nl) m
• Finnish: kutsu (fi) (general); kokouskutsu (fi) (to a formal meeting)
• French: convocation (fr) f
• Galician: chamamento (gl) m
• German: Aufforderung (de) f
• Greek:

  Ancient: κλῆσις f (klêsis)

• Irish: toghairm f
• Italian: convocazione (it) f, adunanza (it) f
• Japanese: 呼び出し (ja) (よびだし, yobidashi)
• Polish: wezwanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: convocação (pt) f
• Russian: вы́зов (ru) m (výzov)
• Spanish: convocatoria (es) f
• Swedish: kallelse (sv) c
• Ukrainian: ви́клик m (výklyk), за́клик m (záklyk), виклика́ння n (vyklykánnja)

notice summoning someone to appear in court

• Arabic: اِسْتِدْعَاء m (istidʕāʔ)
• Armenian: ծանուցագիր (hy) (canucʻagir)
• Azerbaijani: çağırış (az)
• Belarusian: паве́стка f (pavjéstka)
• Bengali: সমন (bn) (śomon)
• Bulgarian: призо́вка (bg) f (prizóvka), повиква́телна (bg) f (povikvátelna)
• Catalan: compareixença (ca) f
• Cebuano: sumon
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 傳票／传票 (zh) (chuánpiào), 傳訊／传讯 (zh) (chuánxùn)

• Czech: předvolání n
• Finnish: haaste (fi) (as defendant); kutsu (fi) (as juror or witness)
• French: citation à comparaître (fr) f, citation (fr) f
• German: Vorladung (de) f
• Greek: κλήση (el) f (klísi)

  Ancient: κλῆσις f (klêsis)

• Hindi: सम्मन (hi) m (samman)
• Hungarian: idézés (hu), beidézés (hu)
• Irish: fógra m, toghairm f
• Italian: citazione (it) f
• Japanese: 召喚 (ja) (しょうかん, shōkan), 召喚状 (ja) (しょうかんじょう, shōkanjō)
• Korean: 소환(召喚) (ko) (sohwan), 소환장(召喚狀) (sohwanjang)
• Polish: wezwanie (pl) n
• Portuguese: intimação (pt) f
• Russian: пове́стка (ru) f (povéstka)
• Slovak: predvolanie n
• Spanish: citación (es) f
• Swedish: kallelse (sv) c
• Thai: หมายเรียก (th) (mǎai-rîiak)
• Ukrainian: пові́стка f (povístka)
• Welsh: gwŷs f

Verb

summons (third-person singular simple present summonses, present participle summonsing, simple past and past participle summonsed)

1. (transitive) To serve someone with a summons. [17th C.]
   • 2007 March 15, The Guardian, page 1:

     It proposes that those held in the prototype Selfridges cells be kept for a maximum of four hours to have their identity confirmed and be charged, summonsed or given a fine.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

summons

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of summon

Further reading

• summons on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Summons in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• musmons