scire facias

noun

A judicial writ directing the sheriff to make the record known to a specified party, and requiring that defendant to show cause why the party bringing the writ should not be able to cite that record in his own interest, or why, in the case of letters patent and grants, the patent or grant should not be annulled and vacated.

OriginLatin scīre faciās →
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Meanings

nounscire facias (plural scire faciases)

plural scire faciases

  1. lawA judicial writ directing the sheriff to make the record known to a specified party, and requiring that defendant to show cause why the party bringing the writ should not be able to cite that record in his own interest, or why, in the case of letters patent and grants, the patent or grant should not be annulled and vacated.

    Scire facias against sheriff, who took more money of the vill for the expences of a knight to serve in parliamente than was assessed

    1799, John Wentworth, A Complete System of Pleading

Origin

  1. Latinscīre faciās“let them know”
  2. Englishscire facias

Borrowed from Latin scīre faciās (“let them know”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

scire facias. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scire%20facias

MLA

“scire facias.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scire%20facias. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scire facias,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scire%20facias.

Source: scire facias on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.