authenticity

Etymology

It is formed from English authentic + -ity.^[2][3][4][5] authentic goes back through Old French autentique and Medieval Latin authenticus to Ancient Greek αὐθεντικός (authentikós, “original, genuine, principal”), from αὐθέντης (authéntēs, “one acting on one's own authority”).^[3][6] The OED compares Old Occitan autenticitat, probably from 1343, and French authenticité, found once in Middle French in 1557 and regularly from 1684.^[2] The philosophical sense follows French authenticité, itself modelled on German Eigentlichkeit as used by Heidegger in 1927.^[2] Before authenticity became usual, English had authenticness (1620s) and authentity (1650s);^[3] the OED is unsure whether that form in a 1657 commentary on Job is a misprint for this word or a different formation.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fact of being true or in accordance with fact; correctness: 1716, in a letter of J. Craven.^[2] Merriam-Webster also gives 1716,^[7] Etymonline 1760,^[3] and the Shorter Oxford and Dictionary.com the mid 17th century.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

In the early 18th century the word meant both truthfulness (1716) and authority, being duly authorized (1719, now rare);^[2] from 1720 it was used of documents and other objects in the sense "genuineness".^[2] Johnson (1755) gave "authority" and "genuineness".^[8] The sense "reality, actuality" followed in 1839.^[2] In the 20th century the word turned inward: from 1910 it meant sincerity, a true match between feelings and their expression; from 1938, faithfulness to a model or to tradition; and since 1948, in existentialist philosophy, a way of living based on self-awareness and responsibility for one's own actions, first in Philip Mairet's translation of Sartre.^[2]

Timeline

• 1620s – authenticness.^[3]
• 1650s – authentity.^[3]
• 1716 – truth, correctness.^[2][7]
• 1719 – authority (now rare).^[2]
• 1720 – genuineness of a document or object.^[2]
• 1755 – Johnson: authority; genuineness.^[8]
• 1839 – reality, actuality.^[2]
• 1910 – sincerity, unaffectedness.^[2]
• 1938 – faithful reproduction of a model or tradition.^[2]
• 1948 – the philosophical sense, in a translation of Sartre.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The quality of being genuine and not a copy or forgery: Experts questioned the authenticity of the letter.^[9][7][2]
2. The quality of being true, accurate or trustworthy.^[9][7][2]
3. Sincerity; the quality of being true to one's own feelings and character.^[2]
4. The quality of following a model or tradition faithfully: the authenticity of the recipes.^[2]
5. (philosophy) A way of existing marked by self-awareness and responsibility for one's own choices, in existentialism.^[2]
6. (rare) Authority; the quality of being duly authorized.^[2][8]

Word family

• nonauthenticity
• unauthenticity

Related words

• authentic
• authenticate
• effendi

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v 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 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin