credit 
Gru. Tlion, it seems, . . . callcst for company to coun- 
tenance her. 
Curl. I call tlirni forth to rmlit her. 
Muk., T. of the 8., Iv. 1 
May here her monument stand to, 
To credit this rude age. 
Waller, Epitaph on l.:i.l> Sedley. 
3. To trust ; sell or lend in confidence of future 
payment: as, to credit floods or money. 4. To 
enter upon the credit side of an account ; give 
credit for: as, to credit the amount paid; to 
credit the interest paid on a bond. =8yn. 1. To 
wive faith to, confide In, rrly upon. 
credit (kred'it), . [= D. tori-dirt = Q. Dan. 8w. 
kredit, < F. credit = Sp. credito = Pg. It. credito, 
< L. creditum, a loan, credit, neut. of crcditus, 
pp. of credere, trust, believe, confide. The other 
senses are directly from the verb : see credit, v. 
Cf. creed.] 1. Belief; faith; a reliance on or 
confidence in the truth of something said or 
done : used both subjectively and objectively. 
This faculty of credit, and accepting or admitting things 
weakly authorized or warranted, it of two kimla. 
Jlaam, Advancement of Learning, 1. 48. 
There is no composition in these news. 
That gives them credit. Shot., Othello, i. 3. 
Mrs. rindust behaved herself with such an air of Inno- 
cence that she easily gained credit and was acquitted. 
Addition, Trial of the Dead ill Reason. 
What though no credit doubting wits may give? 
The fair and innocent shall still believe. 
Pope, R. of the L., i. 39. 
As slaves they would have obtained little credit, except 
when falling in with a previous idea or belief. 
/' Quincey, Herodotus. 
2. Repute as to veracity, integrity, ability, re- 
liableness, etc. ; right to confidence or trust ; 
faith due to the action, character, or quality of 
a person or thing ; reputation : as, the credit 
of a historian ; a physician in high credit with 
the profession ; the credit of the securities is at 
a low ebb. 
To-morrow, sir, I wrestle for my credit ; and he that es- 
capes me without some broken limb shall acquit him well. 
Shale., As you Like It, i. 1. 
How many wounds have been given, and credits slain, 
for the poor victory of an opinion ! 
Sir T. Browne, Religio Medici, II. S. 
3. Good repute; favorable estimation; trust- 
ful regard or consideration. 
Nothing was judged more necessary by him [our Sa- 
viour) than to bring the vanities of this World out of that 
credit and reputation they had gained among foolish men. 
Stillinyjteet, Sermons, I. iii. 
Yes, while I live, no rich or noble knave 
Shall walk the world in credit to his grave. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. I. 120. 
4. That which procures or is entitled to belief 
or confidence ; authority derived from charac- 
ter or reputation : as, we believe a story on the 
credit of the narrator. 
We are content to take this on yonr credit. Hooker. 
Authors of so good credit that we need not to deny them 
an historical faith. /. Walton, Complete Angler, p. 41. 
Exactly so, upon my credit, ma'am. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, Iv. 3. 
5. One who or that which brings or reflects 
honor or distinction. 
Charles may yet be a credit to his family. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, II. 3. 
He [Frederic] also served with credit, though without 
any opportunity of acquiring brilliant distinction, under 
the command of 1'rince Eugene. 
Macaulay, Frederic the Great. 
6. Influence derived from the good opinion or 
confidence of others ; interest ; power derived 
from weight of character, from friendship, ser- 
vice, or other cause : as, the minister has rri'dit 
with the prince ; use your credit with your friend 
in my favor. 
Whose crettit with the judge . . . 
Could fetch your brother from the manacles 
l if the all-binding law. Shak., M. for M., II. 4. 
Credit with a god was claimed by the Trojan, . . . not 
on account of rectitn<le. but on account of oblations made ; 
as is shown by Chryses' prayer to Apollo. 
//. Spencer, Prin. of Sociol., 344. 
7. In <<>;. : () Trust ; confidence reposed in the 
ability and intention of a purchaser to make 
payment at some future time either specified or 
indefinite: as, to ask or give credit; to sell or 
buy on credit. When a merchant gives a credit, he sells 
his wart-son an expressed or implied promise that the pur- 
chaser will pay for them at a future time. The seller IMJ- 
lieves in the solvency or probity of the purchaser, and de- 
livers liis jjoods on that belief or trust; or he delivers 
them either on the credit or reputation of the purchaser 
or on the strength of approved security. 
The circulation of money was large. This circulation. 
being of paper. 'f cciirse rested on credit; ami this n-^til 
was founded on banking capital, and bank deposits. 
D. n'rii.<trr. Speech, Senate, March 18, 1834. 
1341 
Manufactures were rude, credit Almost unknown ; society 
therefore riTovered from the hhoek of war almost M toon 
ax the actual conflict watt over. Macmda/y. 
As it Is, he has to buy on a credit, an uncertain one at that, 
all Ills store things. The merchant, he put* on so much 
over an' above, because It's a credit bargain. 
II'. M. n,ik.-r, N.w Timothy, p. 231. 
(6) The reputation of solvency and probity 
\\ Inch entitles a man to be trusted in buying 
or borrowing. 
Credit supposes specific and permanent funds for the 
punctual payment t interest, with a moral certainty of 
the final redemption of the principal. 
.1. Hamilton, Continentalfst, No. iv. 
8. In bookkeeping, the side of an account on which 
payment is entered : opposed to debit : as, this 
article is carried to one's credit and that to one's 
debit. Abbreviated Cr. 9. A note or bill is- 
sued by a government, or by a corporation or 
individual, which circulates on the confidence 
of men in the ability and disposition of the is- 
suer to redeem it : distinctively called a bill of 
credit. 10. The time given for payment for 
anything sold on trust: as, a long credit or 
a short credit. 11. A sum of money due to 
some person; anything valuable standing on 
the creditor side of an account: as, A has a 
credit on the books of B; the credit* are more 
than balanced by the debits. 
Credits of warehouse receipts and hills of lading. 
The American, VII. 166. 
12f. A credible or credited report. 
I could not flnd him at the Elephant : 
Yet there he was ; and there I found this credit, 
That he did range the town to seek me out. 
SAo*., T. N., Iv. 3. 
Bill of credit See def. 9, and b\a. General credit of 
a witness, his credibility, or general character for veraci- 
ty, irrespective of any particular bias in the case in which 
he Is called. Letter Of credit, an order given by bankers 
or others at one place to enable a person, at his option, to 
receive money at another place. In legal effect, it is a re- 
quest that credit to an amount stated be given the person 
mentioned, coupled with the engagement that, if credit 
is given, the writer will be responsible for any default 
on the part of the holder. Letters of credit are of two 
kinds : general when addressed to any and all persons, 
and special when addressed to some particular individual 
or company. Open credit, in finance, a credit given to 
a client, against which he is at liberty to draw, although 
he has furnished neither personal guaranties nor a de- 
posit of securities. Public credit, the confidence which 
men entertain in the ability and disposition of a nation 
or community to make good its engagements with Its 
creditors ; or, the estimation in which individuals hold the 
public promises of payment, as affecting the security of 
loans, or the rate of premium or interest on them. The 
phrase is also used of the general financial reputation of 
a community or country. To open a credit. See open. 
creditability (kred'i-ta-bil'i-ti), n. [< credi- 
table : see -oiKty.] The quality of being credi- 
table. 
creditable (kred'i-ta-bl), a. [< credit + -able.] 
If. Worthy of credit or belief; credible. 
And there is an Instance yet behlnde, which Is more 
creditable than either, and gives probability to them all. 
GtanvUle, Vanity of Dogmatizing, xxi. 
Creditable witnesses. Ludloie, Memoirs, III. 74. 
2. Reputable; bringing credit, honor, repu- 
tation, or esteem ; respectable ; of good re- 
port. 
A creditable way of living. Ariiutln,,,i, John Bull 
creditableness (kred'i-ta-bl-nes), n. Reputa- 
bleuess ; creditable character, condition, or es- 
timation; the character of being admired or 
imitated. 
Among all these snares, there is none more entangling 
than the crcditablrnest and repute of customary vices. 
Decay of Christian Piety. 
creditably (kred'i-ta-bli), adv. Reputably; 
with credit ; without disgrace. 
He who would be creditably, and successfully, a villain, 
let him go whining, praying, and preaching to his work. 
South, Sermons, V. 218. 
cr6dit fancier (kra-de' fdu-sya'). [F., lit. land 
credit : cre'dit. credit ; fonder, landed, pertain- 
ing to land, < fonds, ground, landed property, 
cash, funds : see credit, n., and/itwd.] An asso- 
ciation that lends money on the pledge of real 
estate. Such associations are of two kinds : (a) Those in 
\v Inch the association lends money on real estate at a fixed 
rate of interest, and issues stock based on the property thus 
pledged, promising to pay a fixed rate of interest thereon. 
The stock may be bought by any person. The purchaser, 
in effect, buys the stock on the promise of the borrower 
coupled with the pledge of his property, and on the fur- 
ther promise of the association. This form is common In 
(iermany. (6) Those in which the loan is repaid by Instal- 
ments or annuities extending over a peri".! of years, gen- 
erally fifty. Associations of this kind are common in 
Krunee. 
Credit Mobilier (kred'it mo-be'lier; F. pron. 
kra-de' mo-be-lya'). [F., lit. personal credit: 
cre'dit, credit ; niobilier, personal (of property ),< 
credulity 
mnbilf, movable : >< i-ri-ilit, ;;.. and molrilr.] 1, 
In French hint., a banking corporation formrcl in 
IK.'iL 1 , under the name of thr "Socii'tr j^ni'rali' 
du Credit Mobilier," with a capital of 60,000,000 
francs, for the placing of loans, handling the 
stocks of all other companies, and the transac- 
tion of a general banking business, it engaged 
in very extensive transactions, buying, sclHnu, ami loaning 
in such a manner as to bring into one or^'ani/oi u h]c ,11 
the stocks and credit of France, and was apparently In a 
must pi"S|M-i"ii^ <.,m lit ion until it proposed to Issue lionds 
to the amount of 240,000,000 francs. This amount of paper 
currency frightened financiers, and the government for- 
bade its Issue. From this time the company rapidly de- 
clined, and closed IU affairs In 1SC.7, with great low to all 
hut its proprietors. 
2. In U. S. hint., a similar corporation chartered 
in Pennsylvania in 1863 with a capital of $2,- 
500,000. In 1867, after passing into new hands, and in- 
creasing Its stock i<i *3, 760,000, it became a company for 
the building of the Union Pacific railroad. For a few 
years It paid large dividends, and Its stock rose in value. 
In a trial In Pennsylvania In 1872 as to the ownership of 
some stock, It was shown that certain congressmen secretly 
possessed stock, and both houses of the Congress that met 
in December of that year appointed committees of Inves- 
tigation. The Senate committee recommended the ex- 
pulsion of one member ; but the Senate did nothing. The 
House committee recommended the expulsion of two of 
Its members ; but the House, Instead, passed resolutions 
of censure. 
creditor (kred'i-tor), n. [= OF. crediteur, credi- 
totir = 8p. acreedor = Pg. acredor, credor = 
It. creditore = G. creditor = Dan. 8w. /creditor, 
< L. creditor, a creditor (def. 2), < credere, pp. 
creditus, trust, believe: see credit, .] If. One 
who believes ; a believer. 
The easy creditor* of novelties. 
/'..;,/, Civil Wars, III. 84. 
2. One to whom any return is due or payable ; 
specifically, one who gives credit in business 
transactions; hence, one to whom a sum of 
money is due for any cause: correlative to 
debtor. Abbreviated Cr. 
My creditor* grow cruel, my estate Is very low. 
Shak., M. of V., HI. 2. 
Creditor! have better memories than debtors. 
FraiiHin, Way to Wealth. 
Catholic creditor. Seecatholic. Creditor exchanges. 
See clearing-houte. Creditor's action, or creditor's 
bill, (a) An action or a bill in equity, by one or more 
creditors, in many cases in behalf also of all other credi- 
tors who shall come in under the judgment or decree, to 
reach assets such as could not be sold on execution at 
law, for an account of the assets and a due settlement of 
the estate : commonly called a ttrirt crettitor't bill. (f>) A 
similar action or bill to set aside a fraudulent transfer of 
assets which may l>e sold on execution : commonly called 
a bill in the nature of a creditor'n bill, or a bill in aut n/ an 
execution. Executor creditor. See executor. Pre- 
ferred creditor, a creditor who by law is entitled to an 
advantage, as in the time or amount of payment, not pos- 
sessed by other creditors. Secondary creditor, In Scott 
law, an expression used In contradistinction to catholic 
creditor. To delay creditor*. See delay. 
creditress (kred'i-tres), n. [< creditor + -egg: 
see creditrix.'} A female creditor. 
creditrix (kred'i-triks), n. [= It. creditrite, < 
LL. creditrix (creditric-), fern, of L. creditor: 
see creditor. Cf. creditregg.'] A female creditor. 
The same was granted to Elizabeth Hlndworth. his 
principal creditrix. J. Walton, Cotton. 
credit-union (kred'it-u'nyon), n. A coopera- 
tive banking society, formed for the purpose 
of lending its credit or money to its members 
on real or personal property, and of dividing 
among them any profit that may be made. See 
credit fonder. 
crednerite (kred'ner-it), . [After the German 
geologist H. Credner (born 1841).] An oxid of 
manganese and copper, occurring in foliated 
masses of an iron-black or steel-gray color. 
credo (kre'do), n. [L., I believe: see creed.] 
1. The creed in the service of the Roman Cath- 
olic and Anglican churches. 2. A musical 
setting of the creed, usually in canon or fugue 
form. It comes between the Gloria and the 
Sanctus. 
credulity (kre-du'li-ti), . [< F. credtdite = Sr>. 
crednlidod = Pg. credulidade = It. credulitd, < 
L. credulita( t-)g, < credulug, credulous : see cred- 
iilim.i.] A weak or ignorant disregard of the 
nature or strength of the evidence upon which 
a belief is founded; in general, a disposition, 
arising from weakness or ignorance, to believe 
too readily, especially impossible or absurd 
things. 
Wearied from doubt to doubt to flee, 
We welcome fond credulity, 
< : nide confident, though blind. 
Scott, Manuion, iii. 30. 
There is often a portion of willing credulity and enthu- 
siasm in the veneration which the most discerning men 
pay to their political idols. 
Maeaulay, Hallam's Const Hist. 
