interrogatory

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage) [etyl] Late Latin; equivalent to interrogate + -ory (“pertaining to”), or more distantly inter- + rogatory.

Noun

interrogatory (plural interrogatories)

1. (law) A formal question submitted to opposing party to answer, generally governed by court rule.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Macaulay to this entry?)

   • 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.

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