noun

• An official summons or notice given to a person to appear.
• The paper containing such summons or notice.
• The act of citing a passage from a text, or from another person, using the exact words of the original text or speech and giving credit to the original by referencing.
• An entry in a list of sources from which information was taken, typically following a prescribed bibliographical style; a reference.
• The passage or words quoted; a quotation.
• (lexicography) A quotation with attached bibliographical details demonstrating the use of a particular lexical item in a dictionary, especially a dictionary on historical principles.
• Enumeration; mention.
• A reference to decided cases, or books of authority, to prove a point in law.
• A commendation in recognition of some achievement, or a formal statement of an achievement.