receipt
Definitions
A written or printed statement confirming that money or goods have been received
收据，收条，发票
The action of receiving something
收到，接收
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedre- (back) + -ceipt (from Latin recepta, "things received") = "what has been taken back / received." Same root and same idea as receive, but receipt is the noun for the proof: a slip confirming that something — usually money — was received. The puzzling silent p was inserted by Renaissance scholars to make the word look more like its Latin parent recepta; it was never actually pronounced.
Root cap still carries 163 more wordsWhy It Means This
Receipt is the spelling trap of the family. The p is a "silent fossil": scholars added it to flag the Latin root, exactly as they slipped a b into debt and doubt. So receipt is pronounced /rɪˈsiːt/ — "re-SEET," rhyming with seat — with no p sound at all. Compare its cousin reception, where the same -cept- stem keeps an audible p.
Usage Guide
The p is silent: /rɪˈsiːt/, "re-SEET." Do not pronounce it like reception.
- Everyday: a shop receipt, keep your receipt
- Formal/business: "upon receipt of payment" = as soon as payment is received; "acknowledge receipt" = confirm you got it
- Note the plural receipts can mean "total money taken in" (the day's receipts).
Example Sentences
- 1.
Keep your receipt in case you want a refund.
- 2.
The goods will be shipped upon receipt of payment.
- 3.
Please sign here to acknowledge receipt.
- 4.
She filed every receipt for her tax return.