authentication

Etymology

It is formed from English authenticate + -ation;^[2][3] the OED compares Medieval Latin authenticatio, recorded from the 13th century in British sources.^[2] Authenticate is from Medieval Latin authenticō (“to make authentic”),^[2][3][4] from Late Latin authenticus (“authentic”),^[3][4] from Ancient Greek αὐθεντικός (authentikós, “original, genuine, principal”), from αὐθέντης (authéntēs, “one acting on one's own authority”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action or process of validating or confirming something: 1612, in S. Lennard's translation of P. de Mornay's Mysterie Iniquitie.^[2] The OED revised the date in 2014: its 1989 edition began the word in 1788,^[5][2] and Etymonline dates it to 1748.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A second sense, the condition of being authentic, authenticity, is recorded from 1634.^[2] In law, authentication is the proving that a document is genuine so that it may be admitted as evidence, and also a person's adoption of a writing as his or her own.^[6] In computing, the verb authenticate has meant to verify the identity of a user or process since 1977,^[2] and authentication is now commonly the proof of identity needed to log in to a network or service.^[1]

Timeline

• 1612 – the action of validating or confirming something.^[2]
• 1634 – the condition of being authentic; authenticity.^[2]
• 1748 – the act of verifying or establishing credibility, in Etymonline's dating.^[3]
• 1977 – authenticate, to verify the identity of a computer user.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act or process of proving or confirming that something is genuine or valid: the authentication of a newly found painting.^[2][1]
2. (computing) The checking of a user's identity before access to a network or service is allowed.^[1]
3. (law) Proof that a document is genuine, so that it can be admitted as evidence.^[6]
4. The condition of being authentic; authenticity.^[2][5]

Word family

• nonauthentication
• reauthentication

Related words

• authentic
• authenticate
• authenticity

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West