credit

credit
credence, credit, credibility
1. In general use, credence means ‘belief, trustful acceptance’, and is used mainly in the expression to give (or lend) credence to, which means ‘believe, trust’:

• The radicality of these changes…had lent credence to the set of beliefs described above —Dædalus, 1979.

2. The phrase to give credit to once meant much the same as to give credence to, i.e. ‘to believe’, but in current use it is more likely to be used in the form to give a person credit (for something), meaning to ascribe some good quality to them: (also used with a layer of irony):

• You chaps do tend to give the rest of us credit for perceptions about your work that we don't…always have —John Wain, 1953

• They search for ages for the wrong word which, to give them credit, they eventually find —East Anglian, 1993.

3. Credibility shares some of the meaning of both credence and credit in that belief lies at the heart of its meaning, but it is used rather to mean ‘the condition of being credible or believable’:

• The empirical basis of theory is fundamental to its reliability and its validity and, in the end, its credibility —P. H. Mann, 1985.

This meaning, now largely confined to special domains such as religion and philosophy, has been overshadowed by an extended meaning ‘reputation, status’:

• It was clear to the [American] President that his credibility was on the line with the leaders in Hanoi —Guardian, 1970

• By then, however, the fatal damage to the Prime Minister's credibility will have been done —Today, 1992.

Such credibility is regularly enhanced, established, gained, lost, maintained, and so on.
The overlap between the older and the newer meaning can be seen in uses such as the following:

• A major French archaeological discovery that was declared fraudulent by many prehistorians in the 1920's has now regained credibility as a result of dating studies conducted at three independent laboratories —Scientific American, 1975.

4. Two special uses of credibility that have arisen recently are credibility gap, meaning ‘an apparent difference between what is said and what is true’

• (Official American statements are no longer taken on trust…. The phenomenon…is called the ‘credibility gap’ —Guardian, 1966)

and, chiefly in BrE, street credibility (often reduced informally to street cred), meaning ‘acceptability among fashionable young urban people’

• (Motor enthusiast David George has seen his Ford Granada gain street credibility with its very own TV career —Bolton Evening News, 2005).


Modern English usage. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • CRÉDIT — Le mot crédit est en usage dans des domaines très divers: commerce, comptabilité, banque, législations financière, fiscale et pénale, droit des affaires, sciences morales, politiques et économiques. Toutes les acceptions, cependant, restent… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Credit — Crédit  Pour le credits qui recense les participants d une œuvre, voir générique de cinéma. Un crédit est une créance pour un prêt ou plus généralement une ressource pour l entreprise. Le sens étymologique de crédit est la confiance accordée …   Wikipédia en Français

  • credit — cred·it 1 n 1: recognition see also full faith and credit 2 a: the balance in an account which may be drawn upon and repaid later compare loan …   Law dictionary

  • crédit — CRÉDIT. s. m. Réputation où l on est d être solvable et de bien payer, qui est cause qu on trouve aisément à emprunter. Bon crédit. Grand crédit. Il a crédit, bon crédit chez les Marchands, sur la place. S il avoit besoin de cent mille écus, il… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • credit — Credit. s. m. Reputation où l on est de bien payer, & qui est cause qu on trouve aisément à emprunter. Bon credit, grand credit. il a credit, bon credit chez les Marchands, sur la place. s il avoit besoin de cent mille escus il les trouveroit sur …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • credit — CRÉDIT, credite, s.n. 1. Relaţie (economică) bănească ce se stabileşte între o persoană fizică sau juridică (creditor), care acordă un împrumut de bani sau care vinde mărfuri sau servicii pe datorie, şi o altă persoană fizică sau juridică… …   Dicționar Român

  • Credit — Cred it (kr[e^]d [i^]t), n. [F. cr[ e]dit (cf. It. credito), L. creditum loan, prop. neut. of creditus, p. p. of credere to trust, loan, believe. See {Creed}.] 1. Reliance on the truth of something said or done; belief; faith; trust; confidence.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • credit — [kred′it] n. [Fr crédit < It credito < L creditus, pp. of credere: see CREED] 1. belief or trust; confidence; faith 2. Rare the quality of being credible or trustworthy 3. a) the favorable estimate of a person s character; reputation; good… …   English World dictionary

  • Credit — may refer to: Debits and credits, a type of book keeping entry Credit (creative arts), acknowledging the ideas or other work of writers and contributors Course credit, a system of measuring academic coursework Credit (finance), the granting of a… …   Wikipedia

  • Credit — Cred it (kr[e^]d [i^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Credited}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Crediting}.] 1. To confide in the truth of; to give credence to; to put trust in; to believe. [1913 Webster] How shall they credit A poor unlearned virgin? Shak. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • credit — ► NOUN 1) the facility of being able to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future. 2) an entry in an account recording a sum received. 3) public acknowledgement or praise given for an… …   English terms dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”