autorità Italian · revision 39017

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1243, Guido Faba|origins=la auctor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /aw.to.riˈta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''autorità''' ''f'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old Italian had [[m|roa-oit|autoritade]] and [[m|roa-oit|autoritate]], and Tuscan forms with an inserted /l/ such as [[m|roa-oit|altorità]] and [[m|roa-oit|aultorità]].^(TLIO)^(LEI|3, 2244)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|auctōritās|t=legitimacy; prestige]], a learned word.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(DEI|373) The Latin noun is formed from [[m|la|auctor|t=author; guarantor; seller]] with the suffix [[m|la|-tās]].^(DELI 1999)^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ The same learned word is [[fro|auctorité]] (about 1121), [[es|autoridad]] (first half of the 13th century) and [[pt|autoridade]].^(LEI|3, 2244) The LEI explains the old Tuscan forms with ⟨l⟩ as hypercorrections: speakers who pronounced /al/ before a consonant as /au/ restored an /l/ that the word never had.^(LEI|3, 2244) DEI adds that the term had a large place in medieval philosophy, from Augustine to Aquinas.^(DEI|373)

+

+ The plural sense “public officials” is a loan translation of French [[m|fr|autorités]] (late 18th century); the adjective [[autoritario]] is French [[m|fr|autoritaire]] (1865).^(DELI 1999)^(LEI|3, 2244) The sense “regulatory agency” is modelled on English [[m|en|authority]].^(Devoto–Oli 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The TLIO's first record is in Guido Faba's ''Parlamenti'', Bolognese letter models of about 1243, in the sense of legitimate power to command.^(TLIO) About 1274 the ''Fiori di filosafi'' use ''autoritade'' both for an authoritative testimony and for the prestige that commands respect.^(LEI|3, 2244)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old Italian the word covered power and jurisdiction, the personal prestige that wins obedience, and the example of the classical writers whose sayings were quoted as models.^(TLIO) Dante defines it in the ''Convivio'' as the act of an author, something worthy of faith and obedience.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) DEI dates the sense “a person invested with power” to the 15th century.^(DEI|373)

+

+ The modern sense “public officials, the authorities” came from French in the revolutionary years: ''autorità costituita'' is recorded in 1797 and the plural in a Milanese paper in 1800.^(DELI 1999) Purists of the 1830s and 1840s blamed it, though Ugolini (1848) admitted that the language of offices could hardly do without it.^(DELI 1999) In the 20th century ''autorità'' also became the name of independent public agencies, after English ''authority''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010) A person may now be called ''un'autorità'' in a field, an expert whose word carries weight.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1243 – Guido Faba uses the word for the power to command.^(TLIO)

+ * c. 1274 – The ''Fiori di filosafi'' use ''autoritade'' for an authoritative testimony.^(LEI|3, 2244)

+ * Before 1306 – Iacopone da Todi uses it for the power of an office holder.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1797 – ''Autorità costituita'' “established authority” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1800 – The plural for public officials appears in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1873 – ''Autoritario'' “authoritarian” is first recorded, after French.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1884 – ''Autoritarismo'' is first recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The legitimate [[m|en|power]] to exercise a function, give orders and make binding decisions: ''Il sindaco non ha l'autorità per chiudere la scuola.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # The body or office that holds such power: ''l'autorità giudiziaria'', ''l'autorità competente''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(chiefly plural)'' The people who hold public office, the [[m|en|authorities]]: ''Alla cerimonia c'erano tutte le autorità della provincia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(law)'' An independent agency that supervises a public service: ''un'autorità indipendente''.^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # Personal [[influenza|alt=influence]] and prestige: ''Con gli anni il nonno ha perso un po' della sua autorità in famiglia.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A person regarded as an expert in a field: ''È un'autorità in fatto di vini.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # An authoritative [[testimonianza|alt=testimony]] or source, and the writers cited as such: ''citare l'autorità degli antichi''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[autoritario]]

+ * [[autoritarismo]]

+ * [[antiautorità]]

+ * [[autoritativo]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[autorevole]]

+ * [[autorizzare]]

+ * [[autore]]

+ * [[la|auctoritas]]

+ * [[fr|autorité]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''D'autorità'' means “by order of the authorities”, or “high-handedly, without discussion”.^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}