Etymologically
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authentique

Etymology and origin of the French word authentique

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1211
Borrowed from
Latin authenticus
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (αὐθέντης)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɔ.tɑ̃.tik/[1]
  • IPA: /o.tɑ̃.tik/[1]

Forms

authentique (plural authentiques)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin authenticus (“original, correctly attributed (of a text)”),[2][3][4][5] whose neuter “authenticum” meant a legal deed that is binding.[3] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek αὐθεντικός (authentikós, “of unquestionable authority”), from αὐθέντης (authéntēs, “one who acts on his own authority; perpetrator”),[3][4][1] a compound of αὐτός (autós, “self”) and an element meaning “who achieves”.[3]

The spelling “auctentique” (1403) is probably due to confusion with Latin auctōritās.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in law in 1211 as autentique, and Bloch and Wartburg note a 12th-century autentike;[6][4] Beaumanoir writes of a seal that is autentiques, legally valid.[7]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century it also served as a noun, a binding deed.[3] From 1403 it was used of persons of recognised and legitimate authority (Froissart's un bourgeois notable et authentique),[3][7] then of things that are true and beyond doubt, its usual classical and modern sense.[3] The sense “sincere, natural, unaffected” is recent, found in Gide in 1923.[3]

In sacred music the modes authentiques (1751, Encyclopédie) come from medieval Latin usage.[3] In African French, authenticité became the name of Mobutu's doctrine of African values (1971).[3]

Timeline

  • 1211 – Autentique, a legal term.[6]
  • c. 1283 – Beaumanoir's seaus autentiques.[7]
  • 1403 – Auctentique, of persons with authority.[3]
  • 1557 – The noun authentiquité.[3][4]
  • 1751 – Modes authentiques in music.[3]
  • 1860 – Authentifier in the Goncourts.[3]
  • 1923 – “Sincere” in Gide.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (law) Of a deed, drawn up by a public officer with the required formalities: acte authentique.[8][9]
  2. Genuine, truly by the author it is attributed to: un Rembrandt authentique.[8][10]
  3. True, certain, whose reality cannot be questioned: histoire authentique.[8][10]
  4. Sincere, natural, unaffected: une passion authentique.[10][3]
  5. (music) Of a church mode, authentic.[3]

Word family

  • authenticité
  • authentiquer
  • authentiquement
  • authentifier
  • authentification
  • inauthentique
  • Ancient Greek αὐθέντης (authéntēs)
  • English authentic

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 1090a
  6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Authentique.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/authentique. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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