credence

See also: crédence

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

Borrowed 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.

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

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
• Japanese: 信任 (ja) (shin'nin)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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)
• Portuguese: crédito (pt) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Scottish Gaelic: creideas m
• Spanish: crédito (es) m

small table or credenza used in certain Christian religious services

• Russian: же́ртвенник (ru) m (žértvennik)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

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

Translations

acceptance of a belief or claim

• Dutch: aanvaarden (nl), aannemen (nl), geloven (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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.

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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