ETYM Old Eng. assuraunce, French assurance, from assurer. Related to Assure.
1. A British term for some kinds of insurance.
2. A binding commitment to do or give or refrain from something; SYN. pledge.
3. A statement intended to inspire confidence.
4. Freedom from doubt; belief in oneself and one's abilities; SYN. self-assurance, confidence, self-confidence, authority, sureness.
ETYM Old Eng. bileafe, bileve; cf. AS. geleáfa. Related to Believe.
1. A religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof; SYN. dogma, tenet.
2. Any cognitive content held as true.
Assent to the truth of propositions, statements, or facts. In philosophy, belief that something is the case is contrasted with knowledge, because we only say we believe that something is the case when we are unjustified in claiming to know that it is.
Although they undoubtedly affect behavior, beliefs cannot be analyzed solely in behavioral terms, since a person can believe that he or she is unselfish and yet still be very selfish. French philosopher René Descartes held that the assent to the truth of a proposition is a matter of will, whereas the Scot David Hume held that it is an emotional condition.
In religion, belief is based on acceptance of the reported existence, acts, and teachings of religious figures, not witnessed first-hand but passed down the generations in written form and ritual.
ETYM Latin confidentia firm trust in, self-confidence: cf. French confidence.
1. A feeling of trust (in someone or something).
2. A secret that is confided or entrusted to another.
3. A state of confident hopefulness that events will be favorable.
4. A trustful relationship; SYN. trust.
1. Discretion in keeping secret information.
2. The state of being secret.
ETYM Old Eng. feith, fayth, fay, Old Fren. feid, feit, fei, French foi, from Latin fides.
1. Complete confidence in a person or plan etc; SYN. trust.
2. Loyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person.
In religion, trust and belief in God’s provision; the “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (St Paul). It can also mean a particular religion or set of beliefs.
The idea of faithfulness, in the sense of commitment or steadfastness, can be applied to both human beings and God. Faith includes moral or liturgical obedience, although in Christianity the Protestant reformers made a sharp distinction between faith (belief in Jesus Christ as the only way to salvation) and works (practical actions), which they taught did not bring salvation. In Hinduism, faith is defined as dependence on God in devotion. In Buddhism, faith is one of the five cardinal virtues, and is an essential part of the search for enlightenment.
ETYM From Rely.
1. Certainty based on past experience; SYN. trust.
2. The state of relying on something.
ETYM Old Eng. trust, trost, Icel. traust confidence, security; akin to Dan. and Swed. tröst comfort, consolation, German trost, Goth. trausti a convention, covenant, and Eng. true. Related to True, Tryst.
(Homonym: trussed).
1. A consortium of companies formed to limit competition; SYN. combine, cartel.
2. Something (as property) held by one party (the trustee) for the benefit of another (the beneficiary).
3. The trait of trusting; of believing in the honesty and reliability of others; SYN. trustingness, trustfulness.
Arrangement whereby a person or group of people (the trustee or trustees) hold property for others (the beneficiaries) entitled to the beneficial interest. A trust can be a legal arrangement under which A is empowered to administer property belonging to B for the benefit of c. A and B may be the same person; B and C may not.
A unit trust holds and manages a number of marketable securities; by buying a “unit” in such a trust, the purchaser has a proportionate interest in each of the securities so that his or her risk is spread. Nowadays, an investment trust is not a trust, but a public company investing in marketable securities money subscribed by its stockholders who receive dividends from the income earned. A charitable trust, such as the Ford Foundation, administers funds for charitable purposes.
A business trust is formed by linking several companies by transferring shares in them to trustees; or by the creation of a holding company, whose shares are exchanged for those of the separate companies. Competition is thus eliminated, and in the us both types were outlawed by the Sherman Antitrust Act 1890 (first fully enforced by “trust buster” Theodore Roosevelt, as in the breakup of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey by the Supreme Court 1911).
To reveal in private; tell confidentially.
1. To be dependent
2. To have confidence based on experience