From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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.
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When Jonathan and the people heard these words they
gave no credit unto them, nor received them. --1
Macc. x. 46.
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2. Reputation derived from the confidence of others; esteem;
honor; good name; estimation.
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John Gilpin was a citizen
Of credit and renown. --Cowper.
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3. A ground of, or title to, belief or confidence; authority
derived from character or reputation.
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The things which we properly believe, be only such
as are received on the credit of divine testimony.
--Hooker.
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4. That which tends to procure, or add to, reputation or
esteem; an honor.
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I published, because I was told I might please such
as it was a credit to please. --Pope.
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5. Influence derived from the good opinion, confidence, or
favor of others; interest.
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Having credit enough with his master to provide for
his own interest. --Clarendon.
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6. (Com.) Trust given or received; expectation of future
playment for property transferred, or of fulfillment or
promises given; mercantile reputation entitling one to be
trusted; -- applied to individuals, corporations,
communities, or nations; as, to buy goods on credit.
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Credit is nothing but the expectation of money,
within some limited time. --Locke.
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7. The time given for payment for lands or goods sold on
trust; as, a long credit or a short credit.
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8. (Bookkeeping) The side of an account on which are entered
all items reckoned as values received from the party or
the category named at the head of the account; also, any
one, or the sum, of these items; -- the opposite of
debit; as, this sum is carried to one's credit, and that
to his debit; A has several credits on the books of B.
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Bank credit, or Cash credit. See under Cash.
Bill of credit. See under Bill.
Letter of credit, a letter or notification addressed by a
banker to his correspondent, informing him that the person
named therein is entitled to draw a certain sum of money;
when addressed to several different correspondents, or
when the money can be drawn in fractional sums in several
different places, it is called a {circular letter of
credit}.
Public credit.
(a) The reputation of, or general confidence in, the
ability or readiness of a government to fulfill its
pecuniary engagements.
(b) The ability and fidelity of merchants or others who
owe largely in a community.
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He touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and
it sprung upon its feet. --D. Webster.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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.
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How shall they credit
A poor unlearned virgin? --Shak.
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2. To bring honor or repute upon; to do credit to; to raise
the estimation of.
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You credit the church as much by your government as
you did the school formerly by your wit. --South.
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3. (Bookkeeping) To enter upon the credit side of an account;
to give credit for; as, to credit the amount paid; to set
to the credit of; as, to credit a man with the interest
paid on a bond.
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To credit with, to give credit for; to assign as justly due
to any one.
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Crove, Helmholtz, and Meyer, are more than any
others to be credited with the clear enunciation of
this doctrine. --Newman.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
credit
n 1: approval; "give her recognition for trying"; "he was given
credit for his work"; "give her credit for trying" [syn:
recognition, credit]
2: money available for a client to borrow
3: an accounting entry acknowledging income or capital items
[syn: credit, credit entry] [ant: debit, debit entry]
4: used in the phrase `to your credit' in order to indicate an
achievement deserving praise; "she already had several
performances to her credit";
5: arrangement for deferred payment for goods and services [syn:
credit, deferred payment] [ant: cash, {immediate
payment}]
6: recognition by a college or university that a course of
studies has been successfully completed; typically measured
in semester hours [syn: credit, course credit]
7: a short note recognizing a source of information or of a
quoted passage; "the student's essay failed to list several
important citations"; "the acknowledgments are usually
printed at the front of a book"; "the article includes
mention of similar clinical cases" [syn: citation, cite,
acknowledgment, credit, reference, mention,
quotation]
8: an entry on a list of persons who contributed to a film or
written work; "the credits were given at the end of the film"
9: an estimate, based on previous dealings, of a person's or an
organization's ability to fulfill their financial commitments
[syn: credit rating, credit]
v 1: give someone credit for something; "We credited her for
saving our jobs"
2: ascribe an achievement to; "She was not properly credited in
the program" [syn: accredit, credit]
3: accounting: enter as credit; "We credit your account with
$100" [ant: debit]
4: have trust in; trust in the truth or veracity of