credibility

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

CREDIBILITY, noun [Latin] Credibleness; the quality or state of a thing which renders it possible to be believed, or which admits belief, on rational principles; the quality or state of a thing which involves no contradiction, or absurdity. credibility is less than certainty, and greater than possibility; indeed it is less than probability, but is nearly allied to it. [See Credible.]
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

More founding-era words: liberty · virtue · republic · justice · providence · commerce · militia · arms · prudence · establishment · religion · usurpation · tyranny · citizen · unalienable · sovereign