quittance
/'kwitəns/
Definition
Noun: 1. A release or discharge from a debt or obligation: The act of freeing someone from a financial or moral duty. 2. A document or receipt serving as evidence of such a release: A written certificate confirming that a debt has been paid or an obligation has been fulfilled.
Usage and Examples
- As a release from obligation:
- Upon final payment, the lender provided a quittance from the mortgage.
- The court granted him quittance from his contractual duties due to unforeseen circumstances.
- As a receipt or document:
- Keep the quittance as proof that you have settled the account.
- The historical archive contained a quittance signed by the king, absolving the town of its annual tax.
Advanced Usage
- Legal and Historical Context: The term is most commonly found in formal, legal, or historical texts. In modern everyday English, words like "receipt," "release," or "discharge" are more frequent.
- Figurative Use: Rarely, it can be used figuratively to mean a release from a non-financial burden.
- He sought quittance from the guilt that had haunted him for years.
Variants and Related Words
- Quit (verb): To leave or to stop doing something. Historically, it also meant to repay or to set free, which is the root of "quittance."
- Acquittance (noun): A near-synonym, also meaning a receipt or release from debt. "Quittance" and "acquittance" are often used interchangeably in legal history.
Synonyms
- Receipt: A written acknowledgment of having received money or goods.
- Discharge: The action of releasing someone from a duty, debt, or obligation.
- Release: The action of setting someone free from a constraint or obligation.
- Absolution: Formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment (often in a moral or religious context).
Idioms and Phrases
- "Quittance is not acquittance" / "Omittance is not quittance": This is a proverbial phrase, meaning that failing to demand payment (omittance) does not mean the debt is forgiven or discharged (quittance). Simply because a creditor does not ask for repayment, it does not release the debtor from the obligation.
- Just because they haven't sent a bill this year doesn't mean you don't owe the money. Remember, omittance is not quittance.
Noun
-
payment of a debt or obligation
-
a document or receipt certifying release from an obligation or debt
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