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Glite Dictionary
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unserved

unserved

7.9
Not formally given legal papers like a summons
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈsɜrvd/
  • Formal
translation icon : no notificado
  • The judge dismissed the case after learning that the documents were still unserved.
  • unserved warrants

Examples

  • There are thousands of unserved legal documents waiting to be delivered to individuals accused of crimes.

  • The police are concerned about the number of unserved warrants for serious crimes in the area.

  • The lawsuit could not proceed because the defendant remained unserved with the complaint.

  • If a party is unserved, the court may delay the hearing until proper notice is given.

  • The defendant remained unserved despite numerous attempts.

  • Many individuals feel unserved by the current legal system.

  • Due to a backlog in the court system, many subpoenas remain unserved for months.

Surface Forms

unserved positive

Morphology

unserved = served (semi-transparent) = un + serve + ed

The morphological negation is regular (un+served), but the legal sense of 'served' (delivery of documents) is specialized and may be unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Unserved is made from the prefix un- 'not' and serve 'to give'. In law, to 'serve' means to give official papers like a summons, so unserved means someone has not been given those papers and the case cannot go ahead.