citation

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of citing.
• noun A quotation of or explicit reference to a source for substantiation, as in a scholarly paper.
• noun Law A reference to a previous court decision or other authority for a point of law, usually by case title and other information.
• noun Enumeration or mention, as of facts, especially.
• noun An official commendation for meritorious action, especially in military service.
• noun A formal statement of the accomplishments of one being honored with an academic degree.
• noun An official summons, especially one calling for appearance in court.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun A summons; an official call or notice given to a person to appear in a court and answer to a demand; a call or notice to appear.
• noun The paper containing such notice or call.
• noun The act of citing or quoting a passage from a book, or a statement in the words of the one who made it; hence, the passage or words quoted; a quotation.
• noun Specifically, in law, a reference to decided cases, or to statutes, treatises, or other authorities, to maintain a point of law.
• noun Enumeration; mention.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun An official summons or notice given to a person to appear; the paper containing such summons or notice.
• noun The act of citing a passage from a book, or from another person, in his own words; also, the passage or words quoted; quotation.
• noun Enumeration; mention.
• noun (Law) A reference to decided cases, or books of authority, to prove a point in law.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun An official summons or notice given to a person to appear; the paper containing such summons or notice.
• noun The act of citing a passage from a book, or from another person, in his own words.
• noun The passage or words quoted; quotation.
• noun Enumeration; mention; as, a citation of facts.
• noun A reference to decided cases, or books of authority, to prove a point in law.
• noun A commendation in recognition of some achievement, or a formal statement of an achievement.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun (law) the act of citing (as of spoken words or written passages or legal precedents etc.)
• noun a passage or expression that is quoted or cited
• noun a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage
• noun thoroughbred that won the triple crown in 1948
• noun a summons that commands the appearance of a party at a proceeding
• noun an official award (as for bravery or service) usually given as formal public statement