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creditor

Etymology and origin of the Latin word creditor

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Twelve Tables
Ultimate origin
Latin (crēdō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkreː.dɪ.tɔr][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkrɛː.di.tor][1]

Forms

crēditor m (genitive crēditōris); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from crēdō “to trust, lend” with the agent suffix -tor, through ⟨crēditum⟩ “loan”.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is the Twelve Tables, which he dates about 450 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant one to whom money or something else is owed, a creditor, as in Cicero, Livy and Seneca, with a genitive of the debtor or the debt.[2][5][6] The Digest defines it in law.[5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a creditor.[7] In Medieval Latin it meant a creditor, figuratively one owed something, and a client.[8] It survives in Italian creditore and Spanish acreedor.[1] English creditor came through Anglo-French in the mid-15th century.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – The Twelve Tables use it.[4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of creditors.[2][6][4]
  • 533 AD – The Digest defines it.[5][4]
  • mid-15th century – English creditor is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A creditor.[2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A client.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Creditor.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/creditor. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·