The P in Receipt Was Put There by Scholars
A receipt is proof of payment. The silent p was inserted into the spelling to show off a Latin ancestor the word had already lost.
A receipt is written proof that something has been received. The silent *p* is not an accident. English took the word from French *receite*, with no p at all; Renaissance scholars then inserted one to display the Latin *recepta*. They did the same to *debt* and *doubt*, and English has been mis-spelling them ever since.
- Proof of payment. *Keep the receipt.*
- The act of receiving. *On receipt of your letter.*
- Receipts — money taken in. *Box office receipts.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | receipt | A till receipt. |
| Plural | receipts | Weekly receipts. |
| Verb | receipt | A receipted invoice. |
| Related | receive | Receive payment. |
| Related | recipient | The recipient of the award. |
How it is used in a sentence
- No refunds without a receipt.The everyday sense.
- We will reply on receipt of your form.Formal: when it arrives.
- Receipts were down on last year.Money taken.
Silent letters added by scholars
- Receipt — p added from Latin *recepta*
- Debt — b added from *debitum*
- Doubt — b added from *dubitare*
- Island — s added by false analogy with *isle*
- Salmon — l added from Latin *salmo*
From Anglo-French *receite*, from Latin *recepta*, received, from *recipere*, to take back. The same verb gives *recipe*, which is the Latin imperative meaning take — the instruction that once opened every prescription.
Are receipt and recipe related?
Yes. Both come from Latin *recipere*, to receive or take. A recipe was originally the instruction *take*, written at the head of a prescription.
Why is the p silent?
Because it was never pronounced in English. It was added to the spelling in the sixteenth century to show the Latin origin.