- authentic
- adjective
Etymology: Middle English autentik, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin authenticus, from Greek authentikos, from authentēs perpetrator, master, from aut- + -hentēs (akin to Greek anyein to accomplish, Sanskrit sanoti he gains)
Date: 14th century
1. obsolete authoritative
2.
a. worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact <paints an authentic picture of our society> b. conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features <> c. made or done the same way as an original <authentic Mexican fare> 3. not false or imitation ; real, actual <based on authentic documents> <an authentic cockney accent> 4. a. of a church mode ranging upward from the keynote — compare plagal 1 b. of a cadence progressing from the dominant chord to the tonic — compare plagal 2 5. true to one's own personality, spirit, or character • authentically adverb • authenticity noun Synonyms: authentic, genuine, bona fide mean being actually and exactly what is claimed. authentic implies being fully trustworthy as according with fact <>; it can also stress painstaking or faithful imitation of an original <an authentic reproduction> <authentic Vietnamese cuisine>. genuine implies actual character not counterfeited, imitated, or adulterated <genuine piety> <genuine maple syrup>; it also connotes definite origin from a source <a genuine Mark Twain autograph>. bona fide implies good faith and sincerity of intention <a bona fide offer for the stock>.
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
