credence
/icons/point.icon BELIEF, FAITH, CREDENCE, CREDIT mean assent to the truth of something offered for acceptance.
BELIEF may or may not imply certitude in the believer.
e.g. my belief that I had caught all the errors
FAITH almost always implies certitude even where there is no evidence or proof.
e.g. an unshakable faith in God
CREDENCE suggests intellectual assent without implying anything about grounds for assent.
e.g. a theory now given credence by scientists
CREDIT may imply assent on grounds other than direct proof.
e.g. gave full credit to the statement of a reputable witness
noun
1. belief in or acceptance of something as true:
｟かたく｠ 信用, 信頼; 信じること
e.g. psychoanalysis finds little credence among laymen.
the likelihood of something being true; plausibility:
e.g. being called upon by the media as an expert lends credence to one's opinions.
2. usually as modifier a small side table, shelf, or niche in a church for holding the elements of the Eucharist before they are consecrated:
e.g. a credence table.
PHRASES
give credence to
accept as true.
ORIGIN
Middle English: via Old French from medieval Latin credentia, from Latin credent- ‘believing’, from the verb credere.