discredit

Etymology

It is formed from English dis- + credit.^[2][3][4][5] The verb, recorded from 1548, was formed from the verb credit; the noun, from 1551, from the noun credit after the verb.^[2][4] Barnhart thinks it was probably influenced by Middle French discréditer and perhaps Italian discreditare,^[6] and the Oxford Dictionary of English sees it as modelled on the Italian noun discredito or scredito and French discrédit.^[7][8] The OED, however, dates the French verb to 1572 and the Italian one to 1589, and compares Spanish desacreditar (15th century) for the sense "to damage the reputation of", and Late Latin discredō (“to disbelieve”), recorded from the 4th century, for the sense "to disbelieve".^[2] credit comes from French crédit, from credito, from Latin creditum (“a loan, a thing entrusted”), the neuter past participle of crēdō (“to trust, believe”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To give no credence to, to disbelieve: first recorded in 1548, in Udall's translation of Erasmus's Paraphrase of the New Testament.^[2][4] Barnhart and Etymonline date the verb to 1559 and the 1550s,^[6][3] and the noun, disrepute, is recorded from 1551.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The sense "to harm the reputation of" followed almost at once, about 1550, and "to take away the credibility of, destroy confidence in" in 1561;^[2] Etymonline dates these senses to the 1570s and 1560s.^[3] The noun likewise moved from disrepute (1551) to disbelief or doubt (1567, often in to throw discredit on) and to a person or thing that brings disgrace, chiefly in a discredit to (1574).^[2] Like credit, discredit also had commercial senses: from 1622 to 1725 the verb meant to harm someone's ability to borrow or buy on credit, while from 1721 it was used of causing loss of confidence in a currency or shares; the noun had the matching senses from 1740 and 1752, the second after French usage.^[2] Johnson (1755) glossed the noun as ignominy, reproach or disgrace, with examples from Shakespeare, Bacon and Pope.^[9]

Timeline

• 1548 – to disbelieve, give no credit to.^[2][4] Etymonline dates this sense to the 1550s.^[3]
• c. 1550 – to harm the reputation of.^[2]
• 1551 – noun, loss of reputation, disrepute.^[2][4]
• 1561 – to take away the credibility of.^[2]
• 1567 – noun, disbelief, distrust.^[2]
• 1574 – noun, a source of disgrace, as in a discredit to.^[2]
• 1622 – to harm the ability of a person or institution to obtain credit (obsolete by 1725).^[2]
• 1721 – to cause loss of confidence in a currency or shares.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To damage the reputation of; to disgrace: The scandal discredited the whole committee.^[10][4][2]
2. To cause to be disbelieved or distrusted; to destroy confidence in: New evidence discredited the witness's story.^[10][4][2]
3. To refuse to believe; to reject as untrue.^[10][4][2]

Noun

1. Damage to or loss of reputation; disrepute: Their conduct brought discredit on the school.^[10][4][2]
2. Lack or loss of belief or confidence; doubt.^[10][4][2]
3. A person or thing that brings disgrace: He is a discredit to his profession.^[10][2]

Word family

• discreditable

Related words

• credit
• credible
• credence
• creed
• accredit

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins