credit
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S: FTC – https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/credit-finance (last access: 27 November 2024); Investop – https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/credit.asp (last access: 27 November 2024).

N: 1. 1540s, “belief, faith,” from French crédit (15c.) “belief, trust,” from Italian credito, from Latin creditum “a loan, thing entrusted to another,” neuter past participle of credere “to trust, entrust, believe” (see credo).

The commercial sense of “confidence in the ability and intention of a purchaser or borrower to make payment at some future time” was in English by 1570s (creditor is mid-15c.); hence “sum placed at a person’s disposal” by a bank, etc., 1660s. From 1580s as “one who or that which brings honor or reputation to.” Meaning “honor, acknowledgment of merit,” is from c. 1600.Academic sense of “point awarded for completing a course of study” is by 1904 (short for hour of credit (1892), given for satisfactory completion of one lecture, etc., a week, usually one hour in length). Movie/broadcasting sense “acknowledgement and naming of the individual contributors” (in plural, credits) is by 1914.Credit rating is from 1958; credit union “cooperative banking society” is 1881, American English.

2. credit, transaction between two parties in which one (the creditor or lender) supplies money, goods, services, or securities in return for a promised future payment by the other (the debtor or borrower). Such transactions normally include the payment of interest to the lender. Credit may be extended by public or private institutions to finance business activities, agricultural operations, consumer expenditures, or government projects.

3. Most modern credit is extended through specialized financial institutions, of which commercial banks are the oldest and most important. In present-day industrial economies, the banks are able to extend and increase the supply of credit by the creation of new deposits for their loan customers.

The lender must judge each loan he makes on the basis of the character of the borrower (his intention to repay), his capacity to repay (based on his potential for earning income), and his collateral (property pledged in case of default on the loan). The terms of credit transactions may be publicly regulated to prevent abuses by customers and lenders as well as to channel credit into particular sectors of the economy.

In fields for which adequate private financing is not available, governments may extend credit. Public lending programs, often combined with public systems of savings collection, provide a large portion of housing finance in many European and Asian countries. In the U.S., public credit is frequently extended for housing, small business, and agriculture.

Commercial banks in both industrialized and less developed countries are often reluctant to extend agricultural credit because of the high risk involved; such loans are usually made only to very large farms. In addition to government credit, cooperative credit systems have been particularly important in less developed countries, where they are often the only source of funds available to small farmers at reasonable rates of interest.

4. Loans: credit.

  • The ability to buy or borrow in consideration of a promise to pay at a later date.

Loans; Foreign Trade: credit.

  • Any transfer of goods, services or money in exchange for goods, services or money to be received at a future date.

5. Loans vs. Line of Credit.

  • Loans and lines of credit are both types of bank-issued debt that serve different needs; approval depends on a borrower’s credit score, financial history, and relationship with the lender.
  • Loans are best for one-time, fixed expenses, like a house or car.
  • Lines of credit, which are revolving credit lines, are better-suited for projects or purchases that need flexibility and may be used repeatedly for everyday purchases or emergencies.
  • Loans and lines of credit usually offer lower interest rates than credit cards for borrowers with good credit.

6. Collocations:

– As a noun:

  1. buy now?pay later; money borrowed/lent
    ADJ. long-term, short-term | interest-free | foreign | bank | consumer, export, trade
    VERB + CREDIT have, use When poorer people use credit, mail order is the key source. | get, obtain If you don’t have a regular income you may be unable to get credit. | extend, give sb, grant (sb), offer (sb) Most shops selling furniture or electrical goods will offer credit. | deny sb, refuse sb The bank refused further credit to the company. | arrange | expand We propose to expand credit in order to create demand.
    CREDIT + NOUN account, agreement, arrangement, facilities, system, terms | limit Your credit limit is now £2,000. | period | sale, transaction, transfer | rating, scoring, standing He has a bad credit rating (= seems unlikely to pay the money back). | risk He’s a bad credit risk. | control | crunch, squeeze | institution, market, union | note If damaged items have to be returned, the manufacturer may issue a credit note.
    PREP. on ~ I bought it on credit.
    PHRASES a letter of credit (= a letter from one bank to another that enables you to obtain money) I have arranged for my branch to send a letter of credit to the branch nearest the hotel.
  2. money in a bank account
    ADJ. direct I’m paid by direct credit into my bank account.
    VERB + CREDIT have I have three credits on my bank statement.
    CREDIT + NOUN balance a credit balance of £265
    PREP. in ~ My account is in credit. | ~ of a credit of £35
  3. praise/approval
    ADJ. great | full | eternal, everlasting | due We should give due credit to all who helped make the event a success.
    VERB + CREDIT give sb | claim, get, receive, take Why should she get all the credit? | do sb, reflect Your concern does you credit. The success of the venture reflects great credit on the organizers. | deserve
    PREP. to sb’s ~ To her eternal credit, she gave them a home. | ~ for At least give him credit for trying.
    PHRASES give credit where credit is due 4 the credits list of people who worked on a film, etc.
    ADJ. opening | final | film
    CREDIT + VERB roll We left the cinema before the final credits began to roll.
  4. sb/sth that brings honour to sb/sth else
    ADJ. great
    PREP. ~ to He’s a great credit to the school.

– As a verb:

  1. put money in the bank
    PREP. with The bank credited the oil company with £500,000.
    PHRASES credit sth to sb’s account
  2. with an achievement/quality
    PREP. with I credited you with a little more sense.
    PHRASES be credited as/with sth She is generally credited as having written over 50 novels. | be credited to sb The work has been credited to a sixteenth century bishop. | be generally/widely credited with sth He is widely credited with having started the Middle East peace process.
  3. believe
    VERB + CREDIT can/could hardly/scarcely I could hardly credit it when she told me she was leaving. | be hard to I find what he says rather hard to credit.

S: 1. Etymonline – https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=credit (last access: 27 November 2024). 2 & 3. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/money/credit (last access: 27 November 2024). 4. TERMIUM PLUS (last access: 27 November 2024). 5. Investopedia – https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/110614/what-difference-between-loan-and-line-credit.asp (last access: 27 November 2024). 6. OCD – https://www.freecollocation.com/search?word=credit (last access: 27 November 2024)

SYN:
S:

CR: discredit, European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, loan, subprime mortgage.