Etymograph

English

credulity

Credulity comes from Latin crēdulitās ‘credulity, easiness of belief’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ḱérddʰeh₁ti.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱérddʰeh₁ti1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱréddʰeh₁ti1‘to believe, trust’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krezðō1‘to believe’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdō1‘to believe, to trust in, to give credence to’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdulus1‘credulous’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdulitās2‘credulity, easiness of belief’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600credulité2
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500credulite2‘faith, belief’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1749credulity2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin credulitas
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English credulity
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones: “Do you think Mr. Allworthy hath more contempt for…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱérddʰeh₁tiWiktionary, Latin credulitasreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱréddʰeh₁tiWiktionary, Latin credulitas‘to believe, trust’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*krezðōWiktionary, Latin credulitas‘to believe’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdōWiktionary, Latin credulitas‘to believe, to trust in, to give credence to’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdulusWiktionary, Latin credulitas‘credulous’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcrēdulitāsWiktionary, English credulity‘credulity, easiness of belief’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600credulitéWiktionary, English credulity
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500creduliteWiktionary, English credulity‘faith, belief’
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1749credulityWiktionary, English credulity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones: “Do you think Mr. Allworthy hath more contempt for…”

The story

Corresponding to credulous + -ity (compare credulosity).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *krezðō ‘to believe’

credited, creditor, accredit, 7 more

through Latin crēdō ‘to believe, to trust in, to give credence to’

credit, incredible, credible, creed, credibility, credence, credo, 10 more

through Latin crēdulus ‘credulous’

incredulous, 2 more

Today it means

noun A willingness to believe in someone or something in the absence of reasonable proof; credulousness.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “credulity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin credulitas. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱérddʰeh₁ti / credulity

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