noun, feminine/kʁe.ɑ̃s/plural: créances
a debt; credence
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 crēdēns, which would make it a doublet of the inherited croyance.