Credit
The agreed deferment of payment of a debt. Under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, credit includes any other form of financial accommodation, including a cash loan. It does not include the charge for credit but the total price of goods hired to an individual under a hire-purchase agreement, less the aggregate of the deposit and the total charge for credit [Law, p. 85]. People first used the word credit (ultimately from Latin credere ‘to believe or trust’) to mean ‘belief’ and ‘trustworthiness.’ The modern sense soon developed in the mid-16th century from the idea of, say, a shopkeeper’s trust that a customer will pay for goods later [Cresswell, p. 151]. Credit was widely available in the early modern period. Probate inventories regularly note the debts that were due to the deceased and sometimes the debts that he had incurred. These included bills and bonds on which interest was paid. When credit was needed, a network of kin and neighbors could be drawn upon, and women predominantly relied on their income from loans [Hey, p. 112]. The temporary transfer of property rights over money or goods was central to the functioning of ancient society. Almost all credit operations would have been informal transactions between relatives, neighbors, and friends, marked by the absence of interest, security, or written agreement. These day‐to‐day transactions, with their basis in reciprocity, created and strengthened bonds between individuals [Roberts, p. 90]. The reputation and financial standing of a person or organization. The sum of money that a trader or company allows a customer before requiring payment. The funding of members of the public to purchase goods and services with money borrowed from finance companies, banks, and other money lenders. An entry on the right-hand side of an account in double-entry bookkeeping usually shows a sale or a liability [Law, p. 92].
Law, J. (2022). A Dictionary of Law (10 ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hey, D. (2008). The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History (2 ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cresswell, J. (2021). Oxford Dictionary of World Origins (3 ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Law, J. (2016). A Dictionary of Accounting (5 ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roberts, J. (2007). The Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.