Credentials

How to spell credentials

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce credentials

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does credentials mean?

1. nounDocuments or qualifications that prove a person's identity, expertise, or authority to do something.

Credentials in a sentence

• The recruiter asked her to email her academic credentials before the interview.

• The security guard checked his credentials at the front desk.

Where does credentials come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word traces back to the Latin verb credere, meaning 'to believe' or 'to trust', the same root that gives us 'credit', 'credible', and 'creed'. From it came the Medieval Latin credentialis, an adjective describing something 'giving authority or trust', as in a letter that vouched for the bearer. By the early 1600s English was using 'credential' for such a letter of introduction, especially the documents that confirmed an ambassador or envoy was who they claimed to be. Over time the plural 'credentials' came to mean any proof of a person's qualifications, identity, or right to act. The buried idea of belief is a handy spelling hook: credentials are literally the papers that make people believe in you, so the word keeps the cred- of 'credit' rather than any 'creed-' spelling.

How the word is built

• cred- (from credere: to believe, to trust)
• -ent (agent suffix)
• -ial (relating to)
• -s (plural)