authentic English · revision 10393

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1340|origins=fro autentique|origins=la authenticus|origins=grc αὐθεντικός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɒˈθɛn.tɪk/ ''(UK)''; /ɔˈθɛn.tɪk/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English autentik, [[bor|fro|autentique|t=authentic, canonical]] (modern French authentique) and directly from Medieval and Late Latin authenticus,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Greek [[m|grc|αὐθεντικός|tr=authentikós|t=original, genuine, principal]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|grc|αὐθέντης|tr=authéntēs|t=one acting on one's own authority, master, perpetrator]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from autós, self (see [[auto-]]), and -héntēs, doer, from PIE *sene-, to accomplish.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The Latin -th- was restored in the 17th century.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Authoritative, duly authorized, a sense now obsolete: 1340 in the OED, the mid-14th century in Etymonline;^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) Barnhart first records it in 1369, in Chaucer's ''Book of the Duchess''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Entitled to belief as being in accordance with fact, reliable, is from 1369,^(OED 1989) and legally valid from 1401 (obsolete).^(OED 1989) Original, first-hand, as opposed to copied, is from 1581.^(OED 1989) Hoad dates the sense actual, not imaginary, to the 15th century, and genuine, not counterfeit, to the 18th.^(Hoad 1986) Eighteenth-century apologists tried to distinguish genuine, by the reputed author, from authentic, true to the facts,^(Etymonline)^(Trench 1859) but the OED says the distinction does not agree with the etymology and is not now recognized,^(Etymonline) and Trench thought Bishop Watson had missed the true force of the word.^(Trench 1859) ''Authenticity'' is from 1657, and ''authenticate'' from 1653.^(Barnhart 1988) In music, authentic performance uses period instruments and techniques.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1340 – authoritative.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1369 – reliable, true.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1401 – legally valid.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1581 – original, first-hand.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1653 – authenticate.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1657 – authenticity.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of undisputed origin or authorship; [[genuine]], not counterfeit or copied.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Conforming to fact and so worthy of trust; reliable.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(law)'' Duly executed, with all legal formalities.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' Using period instruments and techniques.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' Of a medieval mode ranging from the final to the octave above, or of a cadence from dominant to tonic.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[authentically]]

+ * [[authenticity]]

+ * [[authenticate]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[author]]

+ * [[genuine]]

+ * [[auto-]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}