Cā'pi-as, n.

n. [Lat. capias, thou mayst take, from capere, to take.] (Law.) A writ or process commanding the officer to take the body of the person named in it, that is, to arrest him;—also called writ of capias.

☞ One principal kind of capias is a writ by which actions at law are frequently commenced; another is a writ of execution issued after judgment to satisfy damages recovered: a capias in criminal law is the process to take a person charged on an indictment, when he is not in custody. Burrill. Wharton.