The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Credit \Cred"it\ (kr[e^]d"[i^]t), n. [F. cr['e]dit (cf. It.
   credito), L. creditum loan, prop. neut. of creditus, p. p. of
   credere to trust, loan, believe. See Creed.]
   1. Reliance on the truth of something said or done; belief;
      faith; trust; confidence.
      [1913 Webster]

            When Jonathan and the people heard these words they
            gave no credit unto them, nor received them. --1
                                                  Macc. x. 46.
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   2. Reputation derived from the confidence of others; esteem;
      honor; good name; estimation.
      [1913 Webster]

            John Gilpin was a citizen
            Of credit and renown.                 --Cowper.
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   3. A ground of, or title to, belief or confidence; authority
      derived from character or reputation.
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            The things which we properly believe, be only such
            as are received on the credit of divine testimony.
                                                  --Hooker.
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   4. That which tends to procure, or add to, reputation or
      esteem; an honor.
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            I published, because I was told I might please such
            as it was a credit to please.         --Pope.
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   5. Influence derived from the good opinion, confidence, or
      favor of others; interest.
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            Having credit enough with his master to provide for
            his own interest.                     --Clarendon.
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   6. (Com.) Trust given or received; expectation of future
      playment for property transferred, or of fulfillment or
      promises given; mercantile reputation entitling one to be
      trusted; -- applied to individuals, corporations,
      communities, or nations; as, to buy goods on credit.
      [1913 Webster]

            Credit is nothing but the expectation of money,
            within some limited time.             --Locke.
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   7. The time given for payment for lands or goods sold on
      trust; as, a long credit or a short credit.
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   8. (Bookkeeping) The side of an account on which are entered
      all items reckoned as values received from the party or
      the category named at the head of the account; also, any
      one, or the sum, of these items; -- the opposite of
      debit; as, this sum is carried to one's credit, and that
      to his debit; A has several credits on the books of B.
      [1913 Webster]

   Bank credit, or Cash credit. See under Cash.

   Bill of credit. See under Bill.

   Letter of credit, a letter or notification addressed by a
      banker to his correspondent, informing him that the person
      named therein is entitled to draw a certain sum of money;
      when addressed to several different correspondents, or
      when the money can be drawn in fractional sums in several
      different places, it is called a circular letter of
      credit.

   Public credit.
      (a) The reputation of, or general confidence in, the
          ability or readiness of a government to fulfill its
          pecuniary engagements.
      (b) The ability and fidelity of merchants or others who
          owe largely in a community.
          [1913 Webster]

                He touched the dead corpse of Public Credit, and
                it sprung upon its feet.          --D. Webster.
          [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Credit \Cred"it\ (kr[e^]d"[i^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   Credited; p. pr. & vb. n. Crediting.]
   1. To confide in the truth of; to give credence to; to put
      trust in; to believe.
      [1913 Webster]

            How shall they credit
            A poor unlearned virgin?              --Shak.
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   2. To bring honor or repute upon; to do credit to; to raise
      the estimation of.
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            You credit the church as much by your government as
            you did the school formerly by your wit. --South.
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   3. (Bookkeeping) To enter upon the credit side of an account;
      to give credit for; as, to credit the amount paid; to set
      to the credit of; as, to credit a man with the interest
      paid on a bond.
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   To credit with, to give credit for; to assign as justly due
      to any one.
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            Crove, Helmholtz, and Meyer, are more than any
            others to be credited with the clear enunciation of
            this doctrine.                        --Newman.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

credit
    n 1: approval; "give her recognition for trying"; "he was given
         credit for his work"; "give her credit for trying" [syn:
         recognition, credit]
    2: money available for a client to borrow
    3: an accounting entry acknowledging income or capital items
       [syn: credit, credit entry] [ant: debit, debit entry]
    4: used in the phrase `to your credit' in order to indicate an
       achievement deserving praise; "she already had several
       performances to her credit";
    5: arrangement for deferred payment for goods and services [syn:
       credit, deferred payment] [ant: cash, immediate
       payment]
    6: recognition by a college or university that a course of
       studies has been successfully completed; typically measured
       in semester hours [syn: credit, course credit]
    7: a short note recognizing a source of information or of a
       quoted passage; "the student's essay failed to list several
       important citations"; "the acknowledgments are usually
       printed at the front of a book"; "the article includes
       mention of similar clinical cases" [syn: citation, cite,
       acknowledgment, credit, reference, mention,
       quotation]
    8: an entry on a list of persons who contributed to a film or
       written work; "the credits were given at the end of the film"
    9: an estimate, based on previous dealings, of a person's or an
       organization's ability to fulfill their financial commitments
       [syn: credit rating, credit]
    v 1: give someone credit for something; "We credited her for
         saving our jobs"
    2: ascribe an achievement to; "She was not properly credited in
       the program" [syn: accredit, credit]
    3: accounting: enter as credit; "We credit your account with
       $100" [ant: debit]
    4: have trust in; trust in the truth or veracity of

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

281 Moby Thesaurus words for "credit":
   accept, accept for gospel, accept implicitly, acceptability,
   acceptation, acception, acclaim, account, account for,
   accounting for, accredit, accredit with, accrete to, acknowledge,
   acknowledgment, acquiescence, answerability, application, apply to,
   approbation, approval, arrogation, ascendancy, ascribe, ascribe to,
   ascription, assign, assign to, assignation, assignment, assurance,
   assuredness, attach to, attachment, attribute, attribute to,
   attribution, authority, avails, balance, balance the books,
   be certain, belief, believability, believableness, believe,
   believe without reservation, benediction, blame, blame for,
   blame on, bless, book, box office, bring home to, buy, capitalize,
   carry, carry over, cast up accounts, certainty, charge, charge off,
   charge on, charge to, charisma, charm, close out, close the books,
   clout, cognizance, commendation, commissions, conceivability,
   confess, confidence, connect with, connection with, consequence,
   consider, consideration, control, credence, credibility,
   credit with, crediting, credits, credulity, debit, deem, deficit,
   depend on, dependability, dependence, derivation from, difference,
   discrepancy, disposable income, distinction, dividend, dividends,
   docket, dominance, domination, double entry, due, earned income,
   earnings, effect, eminence, enchantment, enter, entry, epact,
   esteem, estimation, etiology, faith, faithfulness, fasten upon,
   father upon, favor, feel, fix on, fix upon, force, gains, gate,
   gate receipts, get, give credit, give faith to, give thanks, glory,
   good feeling, grace, great honor, gross, gross income,
   gross receipts, hang on, hold, honesty, honor, hope, hymn,
   importance, imputation, impute, impute to, incidental power,
   income, influence, influentiality, insinuation, intake, item,
   journalize, keep books, lay, lay to, leadership, leverage, log,
   magnetism, make, make acknowledgments of, make an entry, mastery,
   merit, minute, moment, net, net income, net receipts, notation,
   note, offer thanks, ornament, output, paean, palaetiology,
   personality, persuasion, pin on, pinpoint, place upon, placement,
   plausibility, point to, post, post up, potency, power, praise,
   prayer of thanks, predominance, preponderance, pressure, prestige,
   probity, proceeds, produce, profits, purchase, put faith in,
   receipt, receipts, receivables, receive, reception, recognition,
   recognize, refer, refer to, reference to, regard, reign,
   reliability, reliance, reliance on, rely on, remainder,
   render credit, render thanks, repute, respect, responsibility,
   return thanks, returns, revenue, right, royalties, rule, saddle on,
   saddle with, saddling, say, sense, set down to, set store by,
   settle upon, single entry, solvency, stock, store,
   strike a balance, suasion, subtle influence, suggestion, supremacy,
   sureness, surety, surplus, suspension of disbelief, swallow, sway,
   take, take for granted, take on faith, take on trust,
   take stock in, take-in, takings, tenability, thank, thank offering,
   thank-you, thanks, thanksgiving, think, tribute, trust,
   trustworthiness, unearned income, upper hand, weight,
   what is owing, whip hand, worth, yield



Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856):

CREDIT, common law, contracts. The ability to borrow, on the opinion
conceived by the lender that he will be repaid. This definition includes the
effect and the immediate cause of credit. The debt due in consequence of
such a contract is also called a credit; as, administrator of an the goods,
chattels, effects and credits, &c.
     2. The time extended for the payment of goods sold, is also called a
credit; as, the goods were sold at six months credit.
     3. In commercial law, credit is understood as opposed to debit; credit
is what is due to a merchant, debit, what is due by him
     4. According to M. Duvergier, credit also signifies that influence
acquired by intrigue connected with certain social positions. 20 Toull. n.
19. This last species of credit is not, of such value as to be the object of
commerce. Vide generally, 5 Taunt. R. 338.