habeas corpus

English

Etymology

From Latin habeas corpus ad subjiciendum (“You (shall) have the body to be subjected to (examination)”), referring to the body of the detainee (not the body of a victim, similar to corpus delicti).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈheɪbiəs ˈkɔːrpəs/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Noun

habeas corpus (plural habeas corpora or habeas corpuses)

1. (law) A writ ordering that a person be brought before a court or a judge, most frequently used to ensure that a person's imprisonment, detention, or commitment is legal.

Derived terms

• habeas corpus ad subjiciendum

Translations

writ of habeas corpus

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 人身保護令 / 人身保护令 (rénshēn bǎohùlìng)

• Finnish: habeas corpus, pidätyksen laillisuuden tarkistaminen
• Hungarian: fogva tartott személy bíróság elé állítására vagy szabadon bocsátására vonatkozó határozat/végzés/okirat
• Japanese: 人身保護令状 (じんしんほごれいじょう, jinshinhogoreijō)
• Korean: 인신 보호 영장 (insin boho yeongjang)
• Persian: قرار احضار زندانی (qarâr ehzâr zendâni)
• Spanish: hábeas corpus m, habeas corpus (es) m
• Tamil: ஆட்கொணர்வு மனு (āṭkoṇarvu maṉu)
• Vietnamese: rằng bạn phải mang cơ thể

Verb

habeas corpus (third-person singular simple present habeas corpuses, present participle habeas corpusing, simple past and past participle habeas corpused)

1. (informal, law) To apply the legal principle of habeas corpus to an individual or situation.
   • 1873 August 12, “The Fate of Judges and All Others Who Work Against Zion”, in The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star‎^[1]:

     Hawley […] particularly desired, judging by his actions, to put polygamists out of existence, at the same time very mercifully habeas corpused all the prostitutes and their supporters[.]

   • 1918, Frazier Hunt, “Pegging Away”, in Blown by the Draft‎^[2]:

     He saw that according to the fable typed on its lily white face one, John Grimaldi of Brooklyn, was summoned, advised, entreated, requested, ordered, corpus delictied, habeas corpused and generally invited to appear in said court[.]

Related terms

• corpus delicti

References

• “habeas corpus”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “habeas corpus”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “habeas corpus”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “habeas corpus” (US) / “habeas corpus” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin habeas corpus ad subjiciendum (“You (shall) have the body to be subjected to (examination)”), see above for more details.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˌbeas ˈkoɾpus/ [aˌβ̞e.as ˈkoɾ.pus]
• IPA^(key): /ˌabeas ˈkoɾpus/ [ˌa.β̞e.as ˈkoɾ.pus]
• Syllabification: ha‧be‧as cor‧pus

Noun

habeas corpus m (plural habeas corpus)

1. habeas corpus

Further reading

• “habeas corpus”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10