Word of the Day - 09/29/26
credulity
/krə'dulɪti/(n.): tendency to believe readily
His credulity made him an easy target for the scam artist.
Word Origin
The word 'credulity' originates from the Latin word 'credulitas', meaning 'credulousness' or 'readiness to believe'. This, in turn, comes from 'credulus', meaning 'easily believing' or 'credulous'. 'Credulus' is derived from the Latin verb 'credere', meaning 'to believe' or 'to trust'. The word can be broken down into 'cred-' (from 'credere', to believe), '-ul-' (an adjective-forming suffix, as seen in 'credulus'), and '-ity' (a noun-forming suffix denoting a state or quality).
Many English words share the same Latin root 'credere'. Examples include 'credit' (from Latin 'creditum', meaning 'a loan' or 'that which is believed'), 'credulous' (directly from Latin 'credulus'), 'credo' (Latin for 'I believe'), 'incredible' (from Latin 'incredibilis', meaning 'not to be believed'), 'discredit' (from Old French 'descrediter'), and 'credential' (from Medieval Latin 'credentialis', related to 'credentia' meaning 'belief' or 'trust').