autenticar

Forms

autenticar (first-person singular present autentico, first-person singular preterite autentiqué, past participle autenticado)^[1]

Etymology

The DLE takes it as borrowed from Medieval Latin authenticō (“to validate a record”), itself derived from authenticus (“authentic”).^[2][1][3] Older editions of the Academy's dictionary, Moliner and Alonso derive it instead from Spanish auténtico with the verb suffix -ar.^[4][5][6] The DCECH and the BDELC list it among the derivatives of auténtico.^[7][8]

The Late Latin adjective, used of original documents, is a loan from Ancient Greek αὐθεντικός (authentikós, “having authority”), a derivative of αὐθέντης (authéntēs, “absolute master”).^[7][9][10] The Medieval Latin verb meant “to validate a record”, “to declare canonical” and “to canonise”.^[3] The same verb is Portuguese autenticar, French authentiquer and Italian autenticare.^[1][11][12]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alfonso X's Siete Partidas (1256–1263) use the past participle of documents: a copy is valid if it is autenticado e firmado “authenticated and signed”.^[6][13] The CDH has an earlier hit, escriptura cierta o autenticada, in the Aragonese Fueros de Aragón, dated 1247.^[14]

Semantic evolution

In the General Estoria (1280) the teachers of Athens are asked to approve books por que ge los atenticassen, so that they could be read in the schools.^[15] The DCECH explains the medieval spelling aténtico of the adjective as a hypercorrection.^[7] Covarrubias (1611) defines the verb as giving authority to public documents, and Autoridades (1726) spells it authenticar and derives it from Greek.^[16][17] The Academy's dictionary kept the definition “to authorise or legalise legally” from 1770 on.^[18][19] The current DLE defines it by its synonym autentificar, recorded from 1893.^[2][20]

Timeline

• 1247 – autenticada in the Aragonese Fueros de Aragón.^[14]
• 1256–1263 – autenticado in Alfonso X's Siete Partidas.^[6][13]
• 1280 – atenticassen in Alfonso X's General Estoria.^[15]
• 1611 – Covarrubias records it, the BDELC's first date.^[16][8]
• 1683 – the first record from the Americas, in New Granada.^[21]
• 1726 – Autoridades spells it authenticar.^[17]
• 1899 – the Academy's dictionary derives it from auténtico.^[19]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To authenticate; to authorise or legalise (autorizar, legalizar) a signature or document: El notario autenticó las copias.^[4][5][1]
2. (transitive) To attest with legal authority that a fact or document is true; the same as autentificar.^[4][22][2]

Related words

• auténtico
• autenticidad
• autentificar
• Late Latin authenticus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. autenticar
3. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
4. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe
5. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos
6. ^ a b c Alonso Pedraz, Martín (1986), Diccionario medieval español: desde las Glosas Emilianenses y Silenses (s. X) hasta el siglo XV, 2 vols., Salamanca: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, p. 450
7. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 1, 414
8. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. auténtico
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. authenticus
10. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. autenticar
12. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. 556
13. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. autenticar
14. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. autenticar
15. ^ a b Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. autenticar
16. ^ a b Covarrubias Orozco, Sebastián de (1611), Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española, Madrid: Luis Sánchez (Biblioteca Wordkers transcription, CC BY 4.0), p. 248
17. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 1, 489
18. ^ Real Academia Española (1770), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 2nd ed., vol. I: A–B, Madrid: Joachín Ibarra, p. 1, 396
19. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 111
20. ^ Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. autentificar
21. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. autenticar
22. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial