authority definition | Dictionary.com

au⋅thor⋅i⋅ty

[uh-thawr-i-tee, uh-thor-]

–noun, plural -ties.

1.	the power to determine, adjudicate, or otherwise settle issues or disputes; jurisdiction; the right to control, command, or determine.

2.	a power or right delegated or given; authorization: Who has the authority to grant permission?

3.	a person or body of persons in whom authority is vested, as a governmental agency.

4.	Usually, authorities. persons having the legal power to make and enforce the law; government: They finally persuaded the authorities that they were not involved in espionage.

5.	an accepted source of information, advice, etc.

6.	a quotation or citation from such a source.

7.	an expert on a subject: He is an authority on baseball.

8.	persuasive force; conviction: She spoke with authority.

9.	a statute, court rule, or judicial decision that establishes a rule or principle of law; a ruling.

10.	right to respect or acceptance of one's word, command, thought, etc.; commanding influence: the authority of a parent; the authority of a great writer.

11.	mastery in execution or performance, as of a work of art or literature or a piece of music.

12.	a warrant for action; justification.

13.	testimony; witness.

Origin:
1200–50; earlier auct(h)oritie < L auctōritās; r. ME autorite < OF < L. See author, -ity

Synonyms:
1. rule, power, sway. Authority, control, influence denote a power or right to direct the actions or thoughts of others. Authority is a power or right, usually because of rank or office, to issue commands and to punish for violations: to have authority over subordinates. Control is either power or influence applied to the complete and successful direction or manipulation of persons or things: to be in control of a project. Influence is a personal and unofficial power derived from deference of others to one's character, ability, or station; it may be exerted unconsciously or may operate through persuasion: to have influence over one's friends. 3. sovereign, arbiter.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To authority

au·thor·i·ty (ə-thôr'ĭ-tē, ə-thŏr'-, ô-thôr'-, ô-thŏr'-)

n. pl. au·thor·i·ties

1. The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, or judge.
2. One that is invested with this power, especially a government or body of government officials: land titles issued by the civil authority.
3. An accepted source of expert information or advice: a noted authority on birds; a reference book often cited as an authority.
4. A quotation or citation from such a source: biblical authorities for a moral argument.
Power assigned to another; authorization: Deputies were given authority to make arrests.
A public agency or corporation with administrative powers in a specified field: a city transit authority.
1. An accepted source of expert information or advice: a noted authority on birds; a reference book often cited as an authority.
2. A quotation or citation from such a source: biblical authorities for a moral argument.
Justification; grounds: On what authority do you make such a claim?
A conclusive statement or decision that may be taken as a guide or precedent.
Power to influence or persuade resulting from knowledge or experience: political observers who acquire authority with age.
Confidence derived from experience or practice; firm self-assurance: played the sonata with authority.

[Middle English auctorite, from Old French autorite, from Latin auctōritās, auctōritāt-, from auctor, creator; see author.]

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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Authority

Au*thor"i*ty\, n.; pl. Authorities. [OE. autorite, auctorite, F. autorit['e], fr. L. auctoritas, fr. auctor. See Author, n.]

1. Legal or rightful power; a right to command or to act; power exercised buy a person in virtue of his office or trust; dominion; jurisdiction; authorization; as, the authority of a prince over subjects, and of parents over children; the authority of a court.

Thus can the demigod, Authority, Make us pay down for our offense. --Shak.

By what authority doest thou these things ? --Matt. xxi. 23.

2. Government; the persons or the body exercising power or command; as, the local authorities of the States; the military authorities. [Chiefly in the plural.]

3. The power derived from opinion, respect, or esteem; influence of character, office, or station, or mental or moral superiority, and the like; claim to be believed or obeyed; as, an historian of no authority; a magistrate of great authority.

4. That which, or one who, is claimed or appealed to in support of opinions, actions, measures, etc. Hence: (a) Testimony; witness. "And on that high authority had believed." --Milton. (b) A precedent; a decision of a court, an official declaration, or an opinion, saying, or statement worthy to be taken as a precedent. (c) A book containing such a statement or opinion, or the author of the book. (d) Justification; warrant.

Wilt thou be glass wherein it shall discern Authority for sin, warrant for blame. --Shak.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : authority

Spanish: autoridad,

German: die Befugnis; die Vollmacht,

Japanese: 権限

More Translations »

authority

c.1230, autorite "book or quotation that settles an argument," from O.Fr. auctorité, from L. auctoritatem (nom. auctoritas) "invention, advice, opinion, influence, command," from auctor "author" (see author). Usually spelled with a -c- in Eng. till 16c., when it was dropped, in imitation of the Fr. Meaning "power to enforce obedience" is from 1393; meaning "people in authority" is from 1611. Authoritative first recorded 1609. Authoritarian is recorded from 1879.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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authority

A government organization created to perform a certain function. A state or region, for example, may establish a public power authority to provide low-cost electricity to people living in a certain geographical area. The activities of an authority and its fundraising methods are ordinarily limited.

Main Entry: au·thor·i·ty
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
1 : an official decision of a court used esp. as a precedent
2 a : a power to act esp. over others that derives from status, position, or office authority of the president>; also : JURISDICTION b : the power to act that is officially or formally granted (as by statute, corporate bylaw, or court order) authority> authority and purposes before entering —National Law Journal> c : power and capacity to act granted by someone in a position of control; specifically : the power to act granted by a principal to his or her agent

actual authority
: the authority that a principal in reality has granted to an agent

actual express authority
: the actual authority of an agent specifically stated or written by the principal

actual implied authority
: the actual authority of an agent that the principal has not specified but has purposely or through negligence allowed the agent to believe has been granted

apparent authority
: the authority that a principal purposely or through negligence allows a third party to believe that the principal's agent has although such authority has not in reality been granted called also authority by estoppel ostensible authority
NOTE: A principal is bound by the acts of an agent acting with apparent authority.

express authority
: authority that is explicitly granted to an agent by a principal called also expressed authority stipulated authority

implied authority
: the authority to perform acts that are customary, necessary, and understood by an agent as authorized in performing acts for which the principal has given express authority

ostensible authority
: APPARENT AUTHORITY in this entry

stipulated authority
: EXPRESS AUTHORITY in this entry
3 : a person in a position of power and esp. a public office —usually used in pl. authorities>
4 a : a government agency or corporation that administers a revenue-producing public enterprise authority> b : a government agency or public office responsible for an area of regulation authority>

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