different between credence vs credibility

English

Etymology

From Middle English credence, from Old French credence, from Medieval Latin cr?dentia (“belief, faith”), from Latin cr?d?ns, present active participle of cr?d? (“loan, confide in, trust, believe”). Compare French croyance, French créance, Italian credenza, Portuguese crença, Romanian credin??, Spanish creencia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k?i?.d?ns/

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

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

References

• Webster, Noah (1828) , “credence”, in An American Dictionary of the English Language
• 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.

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

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French crédibilité, from Medieval Latin credibilitas, from Latin credibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k??d.?.?b?.??.ti/

Noun

credibility (countable and uncountable, plural credibilities)

1. Reputation impacting one's ability to be believed.

   After weeks of blowing smoke, her credibility with me was next to nil.

2. (law) Believability of statements by a witness, as measured by whether the testimony is probable or improbable when judged by common experience.

Synonyms

• (reputation impacting one's ability to be believed): believability, personal capital

Coordinate terms

• cred

Related terms

• credence
• credible
• credit

Translations