Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

Get access

Credit
(1,573 words)

1. Concept

Credit derives from Lat. credere (“believe”, “trust”) and means the release of a good for use in the present in exchange for a claim to a compensating payment in the future. Credit presupposes the confidence of the credit-giver ( creditor) in the capacities (ability or willingness to pay) of the credit-taker (debtor). Credit is not to be equated with money; rather, money is, alongs…

Cite this page
North, Michael, “Credit”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_022737>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



▲   Back to top   ▲