A person or organization to whom money is owed. They have the legal right to collect payment from a debtor.
From Latin 'creditor' meaning 'one who trusts or lends,' derived from 'credere' meaning 'to believe, trust.' The financial sense developed because lending money requires trust that it will be repaid.
The word creditor reveals how deeply trust is embedded in economic relationships - it literally means 'one who believes.' In medieval times, creditors would often accept physical tokens or tallies as proof of debt, creating some of the earliest forms of negotiable instruments.
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