letter of credence

letter of credence

English

Etymology

Calque of French lettre de créance.

Noun

letter of credence (plural letters of credence)

1. (diplomacy) Formal diplomatic letter that appoints a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state.

   Synonym: letters credential

Usage notes

• The plural letters of credence is sometimes used as a synonym of the singular.

Translations

Translations

Chinese: Mandarin: 國書／国书 (zh) (guóshū) Dutch: geloofsbrief (nl) m Finnish: valtuuskirje French: lettre de créance (fr) f Italian: lettere credenziali f pl Polish: listy uwierzytelniające m pl Portuguese: carta credencial f Russian: вери́тельная гра́мота (ru) f (verítelʹnaja grámota) Spanish: carta credencial f

See also

• letter of credit
• letter of recommendation

Further reading

• “letter of credence”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
• “letter of credence”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “letters of credence”, in Collins English Dictionary.