letter of credence

Calque of French lettre de créance.

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

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

• letter of credit
• letter of recommendation

• “letter of credence”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “letter of credence”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “letters of credence”, in Collins English Dictionary.