Revised 2013 More entries for "credible"
credibleadjective & noun
Factsheet
What does the word credible mean?
There are eight meanings listed in OED's entry for the word credible. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
How common is the word credible?
About 4occurrences per million words in modern written English
| 1750 | 8.8 |
| 1760 | 8.3 |
| 1770 | 7.5 |
| 1780 | 7.4 |
| 1790 | 7.3 |
| 1800 | 6.9 |
| 1810 | 6.7 |
| 1820 | 6.2 |
| 1830 | 5.9 |
| 1840 | 5.2 |
| 1850 | 4.5 |
| 1860 | 4.0 |
| 1870 | 3.5 |
| 1880 | 3.1 |
| 1890 | 2.7 |
| 1900 | 2.3 |
| 1910 | 2.0 |
| 1920 | 1.8 |
| 1930 | 1.7 |
| 1940 | 1.7 |
| 1950 | 1.9 |
| 1960 | 2.3 |
| 1970 | 3.0 |
| 1980 | 3.8 |
| 1990 | 4.6 |
| 2000 | 5.1 |
| 2010 | 5.3 |
How is the word credible pronounced?
British English
/ˈkrɛdᵻbl/
KRED-uh-buhl
U.S. English
/ˈkrɛdəbəl/
KRED-uh-buhl
Where does the word credible come from?
Earliest known use
Middle English
The earliest known use of the word credible is in the Middle English period (1150—1500).
OED's earliest evidence for credible is from before 1393, in the writing of John Gower, poet.
credible is of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin.
Etymons: French credible; Latin crēdibilis.
In other dictionaries
Nearby entries
- credential, v.a1860–
- credentialism, n.1964–
- credentialled, adj.1764–
- credentialling, n.1883–
- credently, adv.?a1579–
- credenza, n.1834–
- credibility, n.a1572–
- credibility gap, n.1962–
- credibilize, v.1866–
- credibilizing, adj.1819–
- credible, adj. & n.a1393–
- credibleness, n.1595–
- credibly, adv.1425–
- credit, n.1529–
- credit, v.1541–
- creditability, n.1805–
- creditable, adj.1594–
- creditableness, n.1647–
- creditably, adv.1646–
- credit account, n.1701–
- credit agency, n.1861–
Meaning & use
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Etymology
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Pronunciation
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Forms
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Frequency
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Compounds & derived words
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Entry history for credible, adj. & n.
credible, adj. & n. was revised in March 2013
credible, adj. & n. was last modified in September 2023
oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:
- further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
- new senses, phrases, and quotations.
Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into credible, adj. & n. in September 2023.
Earlier versions of credible, adj. & n. were published in:
OED First Edition (1893)
OED Second Edition (1989)
Cite
Chicago
Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “”, . <>
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MLA9
“”. Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, , <>
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