Capias \Ca"pi*as\, n. [L. thou mayst take.]

(Low) A writ or process commanding the officer to take the body of the person named in it, that is, to arrest him; -- also called writ of capias.

Note: One principal kind of capias is a writ by which actions at law are frequently commenced; another is a writ of execution issued after judgment to satisfy damages recovered; a capias in criminal law is the process to take a person charged on an indictment, when he is not in custody. --Burrill. Wharton.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)