authority English · revision 3102

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la auctōritās}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /ɔːˈθɒr.ə.ti/, US /əˈθɔːr.ə.t̬i/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|autorite]], auctorite,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) [[bor|fro|autorité|t=authority, prestige, right, permission; the Scriptures]], also auctorité,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[la|auctōritās|t=invention, advice, influence, command]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[m|la|auctor|t=master, leader, author]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source of [[author]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It was usually spelled with -c- before the 16th century; the -c- was dropped in imitation of French, and the -th- was probably added under the influence of [[authentic]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An authoritative passage or book that settles an argument, especially a passage of Scripture: probably before 1200, in the ''Ancrene Riwle'',^(Barnhart 1988) about 1200 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Legal validity, authoritative doctrine and an author whose statements are taken as correct are from about 1300.^(Etymonline) The power to inspire belief, the weight of testimony, is in the OED from 1303.^(OED 1989) The right to rule or command, the power to enforce obedience, is from the mid-14th century in Etymonline^(Etymonline) and 1393 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Middle English also used it of power coming from a good reputation.^(Etymonline) Official sanction is from about 1400.^(Etymonline) Those in authority are ''authority'' from the 1610s,^(Etymonline) and ''the authorities'' are those in charge.^(Etymonline) The spelling ''authority'' is first in Sir Thomas More, before 1535.^(Barnhart 1988) ''Authorize'' is from about 1383, in Wycliffe,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''authoritative'' from 1605.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1200 – an authoritative text.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – legal validity.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1383 – ''authorize''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1393 – the right to command.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – official sanction.^(Etymonline)

+ * before 1535 – the spelling ''authority''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1605 – ''authoritative''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1610s – those in authority.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The power or right to give orders, enforce laws or make decisions.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A person or body with this power, especially a government or its officials: ''the authorities''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Power given to another; [[permission]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # A public body with administrative powers in a particular field: ''the local authority''.^(AHD)

+ # An accepted source of expert information; an [[expert]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Confidence and self-assurance from experience or knowledge.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antiauthority]]

+ * [[authority control]]

+ * [[authority figure]]

+ * [[port authority]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[author]]

+ * [[authorization]]

+ * [[authoritarian]]

+ * [[authoritative]]

+ * [[authorize]]

+ * [[auction]]

+ * [[augment]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}