Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CRE'DENT, a.

1. Believing; giving credit; easy of belief. – Shak.
2. Having credit; not to be questioned. Shak. [This word is rarely used, and in the latter sense is improper.]

CRE-DEN'TIALS, n. [plur. Rarely or never used in the singular.]

That which gives credit; that which gives a title or claim to confidence; the warrant on which belief, credit or authority is claimed, among strangers; as the letters of commendation and power given by a government to an embassador or envoy, which give him credit at a foreign court. So the power of working miracles given to the apostles may be considered as their credentials, authorizing them to propagate the gospel, and entitling them to credit.

CRED-I-BIL'I-TY, n. [Fr. credibilité, from L. credibilis.]

Credibleness; the quality or state of a thing which renders it possible to be believed, or which admits belief, on rational principles; the quality or state of a thing which involves no contradiction, or absurdity. Credibility is less than certainty, and greater than possibility; indeed it is less than probability, but is nearly allied to it. [See Credible.]

CRED'I-BLE, a. [L. credibilis.]

1. That may be believed; worthy of credit. A thing is credible, when it is known to be possible, or when it involves no contradiction or absurdity; it is more credible, when it is known to come within the ordinary laws or operations of nature. With regard to the Divine Being and his operations, every thing is credible which is consistent with his perfections, and supported by evidence or unimpeachable testimony, for his power is unlimited. With regard to human affairs, we do not apply the word to things barely possible, but to things which come within the usual course of human conduct, and the general rules of evidence.
2. Worthy of belief; having a claim to credit; applied to persons, A credible person is one of known veracity and integrity, or whose veracity may be fairly deduced from circumstances. We believe the history of Aristides and Themistocles, on the authority of credible historians.

CRED'I-BLE-NESS, n.

Credibility; worthiness of belief; just claim to credit. [See Credibility.]

CRED-I-BLY, adv.

In a manner that deserves belief; with good authority to support belief.

CRED'IT, n. [Fr. credit; It. credito; Sp. id.; L. creditum. See Creed.]

1. Belief; faith; a reliance or resting of the mind on the truth of something said or done. We give credit to a man's declaration, when the mind rests on the truth of it, without doubt or suspicion, which is attended with wavering. We give credit to testimony or to a report, when we rely on its truth and certainty.
2. Reputation derived from the confidence of others. Esteem; estimation; good opinion founded on belief of a man's veracity, integrity, abilities and virtue; as, a physician in high credit with his brethren. Hence,
3. Honor; reputation; estimation; applied to men or things. A man gains no credit by profaneness; and a poem may lose no credit by criticism. The credit of a man depends on his virtues; the credit of his writings, on their worth.
4. That which procures or is entitled to belief; testimony; authority derived from one's character, or from the confidence of others. We believe a story on the credit of the narrator. We believe in miracles on the credit of inspired men. We trust to the credit of an assertion, made by a man of known veracity.
5. Influence derived from the reputation of veracity or integrity, or from the good opinion or confidence of others; interest; power derived from weight of character, from friendship, fidelity or other cause. A minister may have great credit with a prince. He may employ his credit to good or evil purposes. A man uses his credit with a friend; a servant, with his master.
6. In commerce, trust; transfer of goods in confidence of future payment. When the merchant gives a credit, he sells his wares on an expressed or implied promise that the purchaser will pay for them at a future time. The seller believes in the solvability and probity of the purchaser, and delivers his goods on that belief or trust; or he delivers them on the credit or reputation of the purchaser. The purchasers takes what is sold, on credit. In like manner, money is loaned on the credit of the borrower.
7. The capacity of being trusted; or the reputation of solvency and probity which entitles a man to be trusted. A customer has good credit or no credit with a merchant.
8. In book-keeping, the side of an account in which payment is entered; opposed to debit. This article is carried to one's credit, and that to his debit. We speak of the credit side of an account.
9. Public credit, the confidence which men entertain in the ability and disposition of a nation, to make good its engagements with its creditors; or the estimation in which individuals hold the public promises of payment, whether such promises are expressed or implied. The term is also applied to the general credit of individuals in a nation; when merchants and others are wealthy, and punctual in fulfilling engagements; or when they transact business with honor and fidelity; or when transfers of property are made with ease for ready payment. So we speak of the credit of a bank, when general confidence is placed in its ability to redeem its notes; and the credit of a mercantile house rests on its supposed ability and probity, which induce men to trust to its engagements. When the public credit is questionable, it raises the premium on loans. Cherish public credit. – Washington.
10. The notes or bills which are issued by the public or by corporations or individuals, which circulate on the confidence of men in the ability and disposition in those who issue them, to redeem them. They are sometimes called bills of credit.
11. The time given for payment for lands or goods sold on trust; as, a long credit, or a short credit.
12. A sum of money due to any person; any thing valuable standing on the creditor side of an account. A. has a credit on the books of B. The credits are more than balanced by the debits. [In this sense the word has the plural number.]

CRED'IT, v.t. [from the Noun.]

1. To believe; to confide in the truth of; as, to credit a report, or the man who tells it.
2. To trust; to sell or loan in confidence of future payment; as, to credit goods or money.
3. To procure credit or honor; to do credit; to give reputation or honor. May here her monument stand so, / To credit this rude age. – Waller.
4. To enter upon the credit side of an account; as, to credit the amount paid.
5. To set to the credit of; as, to credit to a man the interest paid on a bond.

CRED'IT-A-BLE, a.

Reputable; that may be enjoyed or exercised with reputation or esteem; estimable. A man pursues a creditable occupation, or way of living. – Arbuthnot.

CRED'IT-A-BLE-NESS, n.

Reputation; estimation. – Johnson.

CRED'IT-A-BLY, adv.

Reputably; with credit; without disgrace.

CRED'IT-ED, pp.

Believed; trusted; passed to the credit, or entered on the credit side of an account.

CRED'IT-ING, ppr.

Believing; trusting; entering to the credit in account.

CRED'IT-OR, n. [L. See Creed.]

1. A person to whom a sum of money or other thing is due, by obligation, promise or in law; properly, one who gives credit in concern; but in a general sense, one who has a just claim for money correlative to debtor. In a figurative sense, one who has a just claim for services. – Addison. Creditors have better memories than debtors. – Franklin.
2. One who believes. [Not used.] – Shak.

CRED'IT-RIX, n.

A female creditor.

CRE-DU'LI-TY, n. [Fr. credulité, L. credulitas, from credo, to believe. See Creed and Credulous.]

Easiness of belief; a weakness of mind by which a person is disposed to believe, or yield his assent to a declaration or proposition, without sufficient evidence of the truth of what is said or proposed; a disposition to believe on slight evidence or no evidence at all.

CRED'U-LOUS, a. [L. credulus, from credo. See Creed.]

Apt to believe without sufficient evidence; unsuspecting; easily deceived.

CRED'U-LOUS-LY, adv.

With credulity.

CRED'U-LOUS-NESS, n.

Credulity; easiness of belief; readiness to believe without sufficient evidence. Beyond all credulity is the credulousness of atheists, who believe that chance could make the world, when it can not build a house. – S. Clarke.

CREED, n. [W. credo; Sax. creda; It. and Sp. credo. This word seems to have been introduced by the use of the Latin credo, I believe, at the beginning of the Apostles' Creed, or brief system of Christian faith. L. credo; W. credu; Corn. credzhi; Arm. cridi; Ir. creidim; It. credere; Sp. creer; Port. crer; Fr. croire; Norm. crere, cruer. The primary sense is probably to throw, or to throw on; or to set, to rest on. See Creed. Class Rd.]

A brief summary of the articles of Christian faith; a symbol; as, the Apostolic creed. That which is believed; any system of principles which are believed or professed; as, a political creed.

CREEK, n. [krik; Sax. crecea; kreek; Fr. crique; W. crig, a crack; crigyll, a creek; rhig, a notch or groove. See Crack.]

1. A small inlet, bay or cove; a recess in the shore of the sea, or of a river. They discovered a certain creek with a shore. – Acts xxvii.
2. Any turn or winding. – Shak.
3. A prominence or jut in a winding coast. – Davies. [This sense is probably not legitimate.]
4. In some of the American States, a small river. This sense is not justified by etymology; but as streams often enter into creeks and small bays, or form them, the name has been extended to small streams in general.

CREEK, v.t.

To make a harsh sharp noise. [See Creak.] – Shak.

CREEK'Y, a. [krik'y.]

Containing creeks; full of creeks; winding. – Spenser.

CREEL, n.

An osier basket. – Brocket.

CREEP, v.i. [pret. and pp. crept. Sax. creopan, crypan; W. crepian, cropian; D. kruipen; Sw. krypa, to creep; Dan. kryben, a creeping; Ir. dreapam; Sp. and Port. trepar; L. repo; Gr. ερπω. The sense is, to catch, to grapple; and the latter is from the same root, Welsh, crapiaw, allied to L. rapio, and to W. cripian, to scrape or scratch. Class Rb.]

1. To move with the belly on the ground, or the surface of any other body, as a worm or serpent without legs, or as many insects with feet and very short legs; to crawl.
2. To move along the ground, or on the surface of any other body, in growth, as a vine; to grow along.
3. To move slowly, feebly or timorously; as, an old or infirm man, who creeps about his chamber.
4. To move slowly and insensibly, as time. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day. – Shak.
5. To move secretly; to move so as to escape detection, or prevent suspicion. Of this sort are they who creep into houses, and lead captive silly women. 2 Tim. iii.
6. To steal in; to move forward unheard and unseen; to come or enter unexpectedly or unobserved; as, some error has crept into the copy of a history.
7. To move or behave with servility; to fawn. – Shak.