interpellate
To interrupt (someone) so as to inform or question (that person about something).
obsolete
To address (a person) in a way that presupposes a particular identification of them; to give (a person) an identity (which may or may not be accurate).
[…] a Master of Ceremonies' words "Ladies and gentlemen" […] interpellates those being addressed as an audience, and one that is differentiated by gender.
To question (someone) formally concerning official or governmental policy or business.
transitive
After the gentleman and Senator [Mariano Jesús] Cuenco interpellated me, I knew already that my bill was hopeless. That is why I presented that bill on February 4th, but it slept the sleep of the just in the Committee on Education.
Where it comes from
First attested in 1599; borrowed from Latin interpellātus, perfect passive participle of interpellō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French interpeller.
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry interpellate (CC BY-SA 4.0).