Authentic

How to spell authentic

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce authentic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does authentic mean?

1. adjectiveGenuine and not a copy, forgery, or imitation; true to its origin or claimed identity.

Authentic in a sentence

• The dealer confirmed the painting was authentic and not a clever reproduction.

• The restaurant serves authentic regional dishes prepared the traditional way.

Where does authentic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word travels back to the Greek authentikos, meaning 'genuine' or 'original', which was built on authentes, a noun describing someone who does a thing with his own hand or on his own authority, formed from autos 'self' and a root tied to acting or doing. In late Greek the idea of something done by the genuine doer shifted naturally toward the sense of 'real' rather than 'fake'. Latin took it up as authenticus, and from there it passed into Old French as autentique before reaching English in the 1300s, at first in the spelling 'autentik' without the 'h'. The 'th' was later restored by scholars who wanted the word to mirror its Greek ancestor, which is exactly why the letters 'th' sit in the middle today even though they are not always obvious to the ear. The same autos 'self' element survives in everyday relatives such as 'automatic' and 'autobiography', a useful reminder that the heart of the word is the self that vouches for the genuine article.

How the word is built

• authent- (from Greek authentes: one who acts on one's own authority, a real doer)
• -ic (adjective suffix)