accredit

Etymology

* First attested in the 1610s. * From French accréditer, from à (“to”) + to credit, from crédit (“credit”). * See credit.

verb

1. (transitive) To ascribe; attribute; credit with.
2. (transitive) To put or bring into credit; to invest with credit or authority; to sanction.
   February 17, 1793, William Cowper, letter to Samuel Rose, Esq. His censure will […] accredit his praises.
3. (transitive) To send with letters credential, as an ambassador, envoy, or diplomatic agent; to authorize, as a messenger or delegate.
4. (transitive) To believe; to put trust in.
   He accredited and repeated stories of apparitions and witchcraft. 1820, Robert Southey, The Life of Wesley; and Rise and Progress of Methodism
   The version of early Roman history which was accredited in the fifth century. 1855, George Cornewall Lewis, Enquiry into the Credibility of the Early Roman History
5. (transitive) To enter on the credit side of an account book.
6. (transitive) To certify as meeting a predetermined standard; to certify an educational institution as upholding the specified standards necessary for the students to advance.
   The school was an accredited college.
7. (transitive) To recognize as outstanding.
8. (transitive, literally) To credit.