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accusa

Accusa is a term used primarily in Italian with two related but distinct senses. As a noun, accusa means an accusation or charge brought against someone. In legal terminology, it can refer to the prosecution or to the set of charges presented in court, as in the phrase l’accusa. The form atto d’accusa denotes a formal indictment or indictment document. As a verb form, accusa is the third-person singular present indicative of accusare, meaning “he/she accuses” (or, in formal address, “you accuse”).

Etymology and related forms: Accusa derives from Latin accūsāre, from ad- “to” plus causa “case or cause,”

Usage context: In general discourse, accusa can describe the act of alleging wrongdoing. In a courtroom or

Cross-linguistic note: In Spanish and Portuguese, cognates appear as ac c us ar (to accuse) and acusación

See also: Prosecution, Indictment, Accusation, Accusative (grammatical term).

evolving
in
Italian
to
cover
both
everyday
and
legal
uses.
Related
words
include
l’accusatore
(the
accuser)
and
accusato
(the
person
accused
or
the
past
participle
in
legal
phrasing).
The
term
displays
typical
Italian
noun
gender,
with
accusa
being
feminine.
criminal
procedure
context,
it
designates
the
prosecution’s
charges
and
arguments
against
a
defendant.
Phrases
such
as
l’accusa
sostiene
o
l’atto
di
accusa
are
used
to
refer
to
the
prosecution’s
position
or
the
formal
indictment,
respectively.
(the
accusation).
The
exact
word
accusa
is
not
used
in
those
languages
for
the
noun
“accusation,”
though
its
verb
form
operates
similarly
in
meaning.