Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “creditor” come from?

Creditor comes from Middle English creditour, from Anglo-Norman creditour, from Latin creditor, one who lends or trusts, derived from creditus, the past participle of credere, meaning to believe or entrust, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁-.

creditor (English): A person to whom a debt is owed; One who gives...

Definitions

  1. A person to whom a debt is owed; One who gives...

Ancestry of “creditor”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishcreditour—
2Anglo-Normancreditour—
3Latincrēditor—
4Latincrēditum—
5Latincrēdō—
6Proto-Italickrezdō—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱréddʰh₁etito believe, trust
8Proto-Indo-European-dʰh₁etiForms resultative verbs
9Proto-Indo-Europeandʰeh₁-to do, put, place

Words derived from “creditor”

  • creditorship
  • noncreditor
  • creditress
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dʰeh₁- →