Origin: Latin suffix -tion
Citation has 7 different meanings across 1 category:
an official award (as for bravery or service) usually given as formal public statement
"The soldier received a high citation for his exceptional courage during the battle."
(law) the act of citing (as of spoken words or written passages or legal precedents etc.)
"The lawyer opened his argument with a citation from an ancient Roman code to support his claim."
a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage
"the student's essay failed to list several important citations"
"the acknowledgments are usually printed at the front of a book"
"the article includes mention of similar clinical cases"
a summons that commands the appearance of a party at a proceeding
"The judge issued an official citation to the witness, commanding his immediate appearance at the hearing."
thoroughbred that won the triple crown in 1948
"The racehorse Citation is famous for being the first thoroughbred to win the Triple Crown in 1948."
An official summons or notice given to a person to appear.
"The judge issued an immediate citation requiring the suspect to appear in court within forty-eight hours."
In plain English: A citation is an official written notice telling someone they broke a rule and must face punishment.
"The professor gave us an A because we included proper citations for all our sources."
Usage: A citation refers specifically to an official legal document summoning someone to court, distinct from general praise or academic references. Use this term when describing formal notices issued by authorities rather than informal requests for appearance.
The word comes to us via the Old French citation and ultimately derives from the Latin citātiō. It entered English through this borrowing path rather than being formed directly in our language today.