Capias definition

kāpē-əs
A warrant for arrest.
noun
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(law) A writ issued by a court directing an officer to arrest the person named.
noun
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(law) An arrest warrant; a writ commanding officers to take a specified person or persons into custody. [from 15th c.]
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
capias
Plural:
capiases

Origin of capias

  • Middle English from Medieval Latin capiās from Latin second person sing. present subjunctive of capere to seize (from the first word of the writ) kap- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Latin capiās (“you should seize, you are to seize”), from capiō (“to seize”).

    From Wiktionary