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credential

[kri-den-shuh l]
noun
  1. Usually credentials. evidence of authority, status, rights, entitlement to privileges, or the like, usually in written form: Only those with the proper credentials are admitted.
  2. anything that provides the basis for confidence, belief, credit, etc.
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verb (used with object), cre·den·tialed, cre·den·tial·ing or especially British cre·den·tialled, cre·den·tial·ling.
  1. to grant credentials to, especially educational and professional ones: She has been credentialed to teach math.
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adjective
  1. providing the basis for confidence, belief, credit, etc.
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Origin of credential

1425–75; late Middle English credencial < Medieval Latin crēdenti(a) credence + -al1
Related formsun·cre·den·tialed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for credentialing

credential

noun
  1. something that entitles a person to confidence, authority, etc
  2. (plural) a letter or certificate giving evidence of the bearer's identity or competence
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adjective
  1. entitling one to confidence, authority, etc
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Derived Formscredentialed, adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Medieval Latin crēdentia credit, trust; see credence
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for credentialing

credential

n.

"that which entitles to credit," 1756, probably a back-formation from credentials. Earlier in English as an adjective, "confirming, corroborating" (late 15c.). As a verb, "provide with credentials," by 1828 (implied in dredentialed).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper