IdiomDaily LifeFrench

Accuser réception

Meaning: To acknowledge that something has been received.

Literally: To accuse receipt

Example: “La mairie a accusé réception de ma demande, mais rien depuis.” — City hall acknowledged receipt of my request, but nothing since.

Origin: Accuser here carries its older Latin sense from accusare, to make known or bring to notice, not to blame. The same buried sense survives in accuser le coup, to visibly show the effect of a blow.

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