autenticar

Forms

autenticar (first-person singular present autentico, first-person singular preterite autentiquei, past participle autenticado)^[1] The oldest form is the participle outenticado; the infinitive autenticar is recorded in 1593.^[2][3] Wiktionary lists the old spelling authenticar.^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Portuguese autêntico + -ar.^[2][4][5] Wiktionary treats it instead as a learned borrowing from Medieval Latin authenticō, which Niermeyer records in the senses “to validate a record”, “to declare canonical” and “to canonise”.^[1][6] DELPo compares French authentiquer.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the participle outenticado to the 13th century, and Cunha records it as a participial adjective in the 14th century; it has the old spelling of autêntico, outentico.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb has kept the legal sense of making a document authentic.^[2][3] Pereira (1697) renders it by Latin testimonio publico firmare “to confirm by public testimony”, and Bluteau defines it as making something authentic, certain and beyond doubt, approving it as true.^[8][9] The general sense of recognising a work of art or an object as genuine is the first sense in the modern dictionaries.^[2][10]

Timeline

• 13th century – the participle outenticado.^[2]
• 14th century – outenticado as an adjective.^[3]
• 1593 – the infinitive autenticar.^[2]
• 1697 – Pereira glosses Autenticar as testimonio publico firmare.^[8]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines it as making something authentic and certain.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To establish the genuineness of; to recognise as true or genuine, authenticate: Um especialista autenticou a escultura.^[2][5][1]
2. (transitive, law) To make a document or act legally authentic; to certify or legalise (legalizar) it in due form: autenticar uma fotocópia.^[2][5][11]

Related words

• autêntico
• autenticidade
• Medieval Latin authentico

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. autenticar
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. autêntico
4. ^ Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. autenticar
5. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. autenticar
6. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. authenticare
7. ^ NEHiLP – Núcleo de Apoio à Pesquisa em Etimologia e História da Língua Portuguesa, Universidade de São Paulo, DELPo: Dicionário Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (online database), p. s.v. autenticar
8. ^ a b Pereira, Bento (1697), Thesouro da lingoa portuguesa, in the 1697 edition of his Prosodia (1st ed. 1647; CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. autenticar
9. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. autenticar
10. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. autenticar
11. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 1114