Authority

How to spell authority

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce authority

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does authority mean?

1. nounThe power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.
2. nounAn official organisation or government department with power over a particular area.
3. nounA recognised expert whose opinion on a subject is widely trusted.

Authority in a sentence

• The manager has the authority to approve large refunds.

• The local authority is responsible for collecting household waste.

• She is a leading authority on Roman coins.

• No one questioned her authority over the project budget.

• The transport authority announced new fares for the coming year.

• The textbook is regarded as the definitive authority on the subject.

Where does authority come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin auctoritas, meaning 'power to command', 'influence', or 'weight of opinion', a noun built on auctor, the originator or master of a thing. The Latin auctor itself came from augere, meaning 'to increase' or 'to cause to grow', so the underlying idea was of someone who originates or enlarges something and therefore holds sway over it. English took the word in through Old French autorite during the 1200s, and the older spelling lacked the 'h' that we now write. The 'h' was inserted later by scholars who wanted the word to echo the Greek-looking 'auth-' element seen in words like 'author', even though it does not reflect the original Latin sound. That decorative, unspoken 'h' is precisely the spot that trips writers up, since nothing in the pronunciation signals it.

How the word is built

• author- (from Latin auctor: originator, master)
• -ity (noun suffix forming a state or quality)