interrogatory

English

Etymology

From Late Latin; equivalent to interrogate +‎ -ory (“pertaining to”), or more distantly inter- +‎ rogatory.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɪntəˈɹɑɡəˌtɔɹi/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌɪntəˈɹɒɡətəɹi/, /ˌɪntəˈɹɒɡətɹi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

interrogatory (plural interrogatories)

1. (law) A formal question or set of questions submitted to opposing party to answer, generally governed by court rule.
   • 1763-1783, Catharine Macaulay, The History of England from the Accession of James I to that of the Brunswick Line:

     Sidney interposed with an interrogatory concerning the legality of the evidence

   • 1976 December 11, “Security Clearance Cleared”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 24, page 3:

     Kimberling, on the advice of his lawyer Frank Kameny, refused to answer several questions put to him on the 16-question interrogatory. After strong objections, the questions in question were withdrawn.

   • 2013, James J. Gross, It's Splitsville: Surviving Your Divorce, page 240:

     If those attempts are unsuccessful, the attorney requesting the interrogatories may file a motion for sanctions with the court. The sanctions range from attorney fees to prohibiting the nonanswering party from presenting or defending claims.

2. A question; an interrogation.
   • 1798, Eleanor Sleath, The Orphan of the Rhine:

     But when he found that some of his interrogatories were evaded, and others answered undecisively, the look of gentleness which he had assumed, vanished, and his brow wore the cloud of disappointment and of anger.

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “interrogatory”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Adjective

interrogatory (comparative more interrogatory, superlative most interrogatory)

1. Serving to interrogate; questioning.

   an interrogatory glance

   • 2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, Fourth Estate, page 207:

     The interrogatory stare of the cardinal is enough to bring a man to his knees.