A subpoena is an official legal order that requires someone to appear in court or provide documents; to subpoena someone is to send them such an order.
From Medieval Latin 'sub poena' meaning 'under penalty'. It warned that ignoring the order would lead to punishment.
The word literally says, 'Do this under penalty,' which is why you can’t just ignore it like junk mail. A subpoena doesn’t accuse you of a crime; it forces you into the story the legal system is trying to untangle.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.