Etymologically
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authenticus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [au̯ˈtʰɛn.tɪ.kʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [au̯ˈtɛn.ti.kus][1]

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

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