quittance
LowFormal, Legal, Archaic
Definition
Meaning
A release from debt or obligation; a formal discharge.
A document or certificate serving as evidence of this discharge; figuratively, repayment or requital.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily denotes a formal, often legal, act of discharge from a financial or other obligation. The figurative use meaning 'requital' is now rare and literary.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Identical in meaning. Slightly more likely to be encountered in British legal or historical contexts, but the word is equally rare in both varieties.
Connotations
Old-fashioned, formal, legalistic.
Frequency
Extremely low frequency in contemporary use. Mostly found in historical texts, legal archives, or deliberately archaic phrasing.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
grant [someone] quittance [for something]receive quittance [from someone]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “to give someone their quittance (archaic: to settle accounts, often with a sense of finality or retribution)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Not used in modern business. Historical reference to debt clearance.
Academic
Used in historical, legal, or literary studies.
Everyday
Virtually never used.
Technical
Specific term in historical legal documents.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The lord promised to quittance the vassal's feudal service.
American English
- The contract was quittanced by the notary public.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Upon final payment, the bank issued a quittance, freeing him from the loan.
- In the old tale, the knight sought quittance for the insult to his honour.
- The medieval charter included a formal quittance from all future tithes owed to the manor.
- Her act of charity was less about altruism and more about quittance for her past guilts.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'quit' + 'finance'. A quittance lets you QUIT a FINANCE obligation.
Conceptual Metaphor
OBLIGATION IS A BOND, RELEASE IS FREEDOM.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- False friend: Not related to 'квитанция' (receipt). 'Квитанция' is closer to 'receipt' or 'voucher'. For 'quittance', consider 'освобождение от обязательства', 'расписка об уплате'.
Common Mistakes
- Using it to mean a simple receipt (use 'receipt').
- Using it in informal contexts.
- Confusing it with 'acquittance' (an acceptable, even more archaic variant).
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'quittance' MOST appropriately used?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it is very rare and primarily used in formal, legal, or historical contexts.
A 'receipt' is a simple acknowledgement of payment. A 'quittance' is a formal, often legal, document that signifies a full release from an obligation, not just proof of payment.
Historically, yes ('to quittance'), but this usage is now obsolete and should be avoided in modern writing.
Yes, 'acquittance' is a historical variant and synonym, derived from the same root. 'Quittance' is the more standard modern spelling, though both are archaic.
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