The grammatical case used for the direct object of a verb, typically marking the person or thing that receives the action.
From Latin accusativus (casus), from accusatus, past participle of accusare. Roman grammarians named it this way because it marks the 'accused' or object of the verbal action.
It's wild that the accusative case got its name from the word for 'accuse'—Roman grammarians thought of the object as being 'accused' of receiving the action, showing how they saw grammar through a legal metaphor!
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