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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɹiː.dəns/

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.
4. (countable) A cupboard, sideboard, or cabinet, particularly one intended for the display of rich vessels or plate on open shelves.

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)
• 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

• Webster, Noah, “credence”, in An American Dictionary of the English Language‎^[1], 1828
• credence in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “credence” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.

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Old French

Alternative forms

• credance

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin credentia. Compare croiance, creance.

Noun

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

1. faith; confidence