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authentic

 - 3 dictionary results

au⋅then⋅tic

[aw-then-tik]
–adjective
1. not false or copied; genuine; real: an authentic antique.
2. having the origin supported by unquestionable evidence; authenticated; verified: an authentic document of the Middle Ages; an authentic work of the old master.
3. entitled to acceptance or belief because of agreement with known facts or experience; reliable; trustworthy: an authentic report on poverty in Africa.
4. Law. executed with all due formalities: an authentic deed.
5. Music.
a. (of a church mode) having a range extending from the final to the octave above. Compare plagal.
b. (of a cadence) consisting of a dominant harmony followed by a tonic.
6. Obsolete. authoritative.

Origin:
1300–50; < LL authenticus < Gk authentikós original, primary, at first hand, equiv. to authént(ēs) one who does things himself (aut- aut- + -hentēs doer) + -ikos -ic; r. ME autentik (< AF) < ML autenticus


au⋅then⋅ti⋅cal⋅ly, adverb


1–3. Authentic, genuine, real, veritable share the sense of actuality and lack of falsehood or misrepresentation. Authentic carries a connotation of authoritative certification that an object is what it is claimed to be: an authentic Rembrandt sketch. Genuine refers to objects or persons having the characteristics or source claimed or implied: a genuine ivory carving. Real, the most general of these terms, refers to innate or actual—as opposed to ostensible—nature or character: In real life, plans often miscarry. A real diamond will cut glass. Veritable, derived from the Latin word for truth, suggests the general truthfulness but not necessarily the literal or strict correspondence with reality of that which it describes; it is often used metaphorically: a veritable wizard of finance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To authentic
au·then·tic   (ô-thěn'tĭk)   
adj.  
  1. Conforming to fact and therefore worthy of trust, reliance, or belief: an authentic account by an eyewitness.

  2. Having a claimed and verifiable origin or authorship; not counterfeit or copied: an authentic medieval sword.

  3. Law Executed with due process: an authentic deed.

  4. Music

    1. Of, relating to, or being a medieval mode having a range from its final tone to the octave above it.

    2. Of, relating to, or being a cadence with the dominant chord immediately preceding the tonic chord.

  5. Obsolete Authoritative.


[Middle English autentik, from Old French autentique, from Late Latin authenticus, from Greek authentikos, from authentēs, author.]
au·then'ti·cal·ly adv.
Synonyms: These adjectives mean not counterfeit or copied: an authentic painting by Corot; a bona fide transfer of property; genuine crabmeat; a real diamond; true courage; undoubted evidence; an unquestionable antique.
Antonym: counterfeit
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

authentic 
1340, "authoritative," from O.Fr. autentique (13c.), from M.L. authenticus, from Gk. authentikos "original, genuine, principal," from authentes "one acting on one's own authority," from autos "self" + hentes "doer, being." Sense of "entitled to acceptance as factual" is first recorded 1369. Authentic implies that the contents of the thing in question correspond to the facts and are not fictitious; genuine implies that the reputed author is the real one.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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