krə̇ˈdenzə, krēˈ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Italian, literally, belief, confidence, from Medieval Latin credentia security given, belief; from the practice of placing a lord's food and drink on a sideboard or buffet to be tasted by a servant before being put on the lord's table in order to make sure that it contained no poison
1. : credence 4
2. : a sideboard, buffet, or bookcase patterned after the credence of the Renaissance period ; especially : one without legs whose base rests flat on the floor