authenticus

Forms

authenticus (feminine authentica, neuter authenticum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek αὐθεντικός (authentikós, “principal, genuine”).^[2][3][1][4] Etymonline derives the Greek adjective from αὐθέντης (authéntēs, “one acting on his own authority”), a compound of αὐτός (autós, “self”) and a noun meaning “doer”.^[5]

It passed into Old French as autentique;^[5] English authentic comes both from the French word and directly from the Medieval Latin one.^[5] Conte gives it as the source of Italian autentico.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a word of the jurists and the Church Fathers.^[3] Tertullian speaks of the apostles' authenticae litterae, their letters in the original,^[7] and the jurists of the Digest use it of an original document as against a copy: Ulpian has tabulās vērō authenticās of an original will, which the heir keeps while handing over a copy.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

The neuter authenticum became a noun for the original text: Paulus rules that a person sued by the treasury must be sued on the original and not on a copy, and Tertullian and Jerome appeal to the Greek or Hebrew original of the Bible.^[7][3] Georges and Köbler also record it in the sense “reliable, vouched for”, in the veterinary writer Pelagonius.^[8][9] Sidonius Apollinaris uses the masculine plural as a noun for the apostles.^[10]

In medieval Latin a document is authenticus when it comes from the author of the deed, and so valid in law, especially canon law; a person so called is trustworthy.^[11] British sources apply it to seals, to authoritative texts and pronouncements, to persons and institutions having authority, and to the high altar (altāre authenticum).^[12] The authentica hebdomada was the week before Whitsun, and authenticum could also name an antiphonary.^[11] Köbler notes a medieval musical sense, “in the principal mode”.^[9]

English borrowed it in the mid-14th century as autentik “authoritative”, a sense now obsolete.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian calls the apostles' original letters authenticae litterae.^[7][9]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of an original will.^[2][7][9]
• c. 383–420 AD – Jerome refers to the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible as authentica.^[7][9]
• c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius Apollinaris uses the plural as a noun for the apostles.^[10][9]
• 1181 – A papal charter for Beverley refers to what is contained in authentic writings.^[12]
• mid-14th century – English borrows it as autentik.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (of documents) original, in the author's own hand, as opposed to a copy.^[2][3][8]
2. (Late Latin) reliable, vouched for.^[8][9]
3. (Medieval Latin) Valid in law, especially in canon law.^[11][12]
4. (Medieval Latin, of persons) trustworthy; having authority.^[11][12]
5. (Medieval Latin, of seals, texts and usages) authoritative, approved by authority.^[12][4]

Noun

1. (neuter) The original of a document or text.^[3][7][8]
2. (Late Latin, masculine plural) The apostles.^[10]
3. (Medieval Latin, neuter) A legally valid document; an antiphonary.^[11]

Word family

• authenticum
• authenticē

Related words

• English authentic

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
10. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
11. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
12. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press