credo Italian · revision 37528

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1268, Andrea da Grosseto|origins=ine-pro *ḱred-dʰeh₁-}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈkre.do/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''credo''' ''m'' (invariable, Wiktionary also gives the plural ''credi'')^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|crēdō|t=I believe]], the first person singular present of the Latin verb behind [[credere]], the word that opens the Apostles' Creed.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026) GRADIT names the opening of the liturgical formula “Credo in unum Deum”.^(GRADIT 2003) DEI calls it a learned word from Church Latin.^(DEI|1149) REW notes that it passed from the Mass into the spoken languages, as in [[lld|kraidum]] from “credo in unum”.^(REW 1935) The word is [[fr|credo]] from the 13th century.^(GDLI|3, 949)^(DEI|1149)

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+ The Latin verb goes back to [[ine-pro|*ḱred-dʰeh₁-]], “to place one's heart”, that is, to trust or believe.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in Andrea da Grosseto, in Tuscany in 1268, in the phrase ''Credo in Dio'', the declaration of the articles of the Christian faith.^(TLIO)^(Nocentini 2010) DELI's first record is in Domenico Cavalca, before 1342.^(DELI 1999)^(GRADIT 2003) GDLI quotes him on the articles of the faith, which “si contengono sommamente in nel Credo” (are contained above all in the Creed).^(GDLI|3, 949)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Cavalca already distinguished the ''Credo maggiore'', the Nicene–Constantinopolitan Creed, from the ''Credo minore'', the Apostles' Creed.^(GDLI|3, 949) The time needed to recite it became a measure of time: ''in un credo'' means “in a moment”, as Portuguese ''em um credo'' does.^(DEI|1149)^(REW 1935)^(GRADIT 2003) The figurative sense, “a set of ideas and principles, political, moral or artistic”, is recorded in 1798 in a translation of La Harpe;^(DELI 1999) the French word took this sense in 1794.^(GDLI|3, 949)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1268 – Andrea da Grosseto writes ''Credo in Dio''.^(TLIO)

+ * Before 1342 – Domenico Cavalca uses ''Credo'' for the creed.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1798 – The sense “set of principles” in a translation of La Harpe.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(religion)'' The [[m|en|Creed]], the formula summing up the main truths of the Christian faith: ''il coro ha cantato il Credo in latino''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The part of the Mass in which it is recited.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # The fundamental doctrines of a religion.^(GRADIT 2003)

+ # The set of a person's or a group's convictions: ''il suo credo politico non è mai cambiato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[credere]]

+ * [[la|credo]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Credo'' is also the first person singular present of [[credere]], “I believe”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}