Experto crede

Experto crede is a Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...

 motto

Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used...

 which literally means "believe one who has had experience". It is usually used by an author as an aside to the reader, and may be loosely translated as: "trust me", "trust the expert", "believe one who has tried it", or "have faith in experience".

Experto crede is a Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...

 motto

Motto

A motto is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used...

 which literally means "believe one who has had experience". It is usually used by an author as an aside to the reader, and may be loosely translated as: "trust me", "trust the expert", "believe one who has tried it", or "have faith in experience".

In the form experto credite it is a quotation from the Aeneid

Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is written in dactylic hexameter...

by Virgil

Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works—the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the Aeneid—although several minor poems are also attributed to him.The son of a farmer, Virgil came to be...

(Part XI, Line 283).

When "Crede" is followed by a personal name (e.g., Crede John Smith), the expert in question is the name given.