credence

See also: crédence

English

Etymology

From Middle English credence, from Old French credence, from Medieval Latin crēdentia (“belief, faith”), from Latin crēdēns, present active participle of crēdō (“loan, confide in, trust, believe”). Compare French croyance, French créance, Italian credenza, Portuguese crença, Romanian credință, Spanish creencia. Doublet of credenza.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɹiː.dəns/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Audio (Mid-Atlantic)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːdəns

Noun

credence (countable and uncountable, plural credences)

1. (uncountable) Acceptance of a belief or claim as true, especially on the basis of evidence.

   Based on the scientific data, I give credence to this hypothesis.

2. (rare, uncountable) Credential or supporting material for a person or claim.

   He presented us with a letter of credence.

3. (religion, countable) A small table or credenza used in certain Christian religious services.

   Synonym: (more common in Catholicism) credence table

4. (countable) A cupboard, sideboard, or cabinet, particularly one intended for the display of rich vessels or plate on open shelves.
5. (countable) A subjective probability estimate of a belief or claim.

   My credence in the proposition is around 90%.

Related terms

• credential
• credibility
• lend credence to

Translations

acceptance of a belief or claim

• Bulgarian: вяра (bg) f (vjara), доверие (bg) n (doverie)
• Dutch: aanvaarding (nl) f, geloof (nl) n, aanname (nl) f
• Finnish: uskottavuus (fi)
• French: crédit (fr) m
• German: Glauben (de) m, Vertrauen (de) n
• Japanese: 信任 (ja) (shin'nin)
• Middle English: credence
• Portuguese: crédito (pt) m, crença (pt) f
• Russian: ве́ра (ru) (véra)
• Scottish Gaelic: creideas m
• Spanish: crédito (es) m
• Swedish: trovärdighet (sv)

credential or supporting material for a person or claim

• Dutch: (person) aanbeveling (nl) f, (claim) ondersteuning (nl) f, bewijs (nl) n
• German: Beglaubigung (de), Empfehlung (de) f, Nachweis (de) m
• Portuguese: crédito (pt) m
• Scottish Gaelic: creideas m
• Spanish: crédito (es) m

small table or credenza used in certain Christian religious services

• Catalan: credença (ca) f
• Finnish: kredenssipöytä (fi)
• Russian: же́ртвенник (ru) m (žértvennik)

cupboard, sideboard, or cabinet

• German: Kredenz (de) f

Verb

credence (third-person singular simple present credences, present participle credencing, simple past and past participle credenced)

1. (obsolete) To give credence to; to believe.

Translations

acceptance of a belief or claim

• Dutch: aanvaarden (nl), aannemen (nl), geloven (nl)
• German: Glauben schenken, Vertrauen schenken
• Portuguese: acreditar (pt)

References

• credence in An American Dictionary of the English Language, by Noah Webster, 1828.
• “credence”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “credence”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• credance, credans, credaunce, credens, credense, gredense

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French credence, itself borrowed from Latin crēdentia. Doublet of creaunce.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /krɛːˈdɛns(ə)/, /ˈkrɛːdɛns(ə)/

Noun

credence (uncountable)

1. Faith, confidence; having belief.
2. Credence or credibility; the state of being reliable.
3. An official letter or text.
4. (rare) The tasting of food for poisons.

Descendants

• English: credence

References

• “crēdence, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Old French

Alternative forms

• credance

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin credentia. Compare croiance, creance.

Noun

credence oblique singular, f (oblique plural credences, nominative singular credence, nominative plural credences)

1. faith; confidence

Descendants

• → Middle English: credence, credance, credans, credaunce, credens, credense, gredense
  • English: credence