créance

Derived from the root cre- in the strong forms of Old French croire, creier, and particularly from the present participle, créant + -ance or -ance. Alternatively, but less likely, borrowed from Medieval Latin crēdentia, from Latin crēdens, which would make it a doublet of the inherited croyance.

• IPA^(key): /kʁe.ɑ̃s/
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

créance f (plural créances)

1. a debt
2. credence

While both créance and dette correspond with English debt, créance is seen from the perspective of the lender (money owed to them), whereas dette is seen from the perspective of the borrower (money they owe).

• créancier

• croyance

• carence

• etymology

• “créance” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).