authentic

authentic
authentic, genuine
1. Fowler (1926) tried to establish a distinction in meaning between these two words, reserving authentic for the truthfulness of (for example) a book's contents or a picture's subject and genuine for the status of its alleged creator. In the sentence The Holbein Henry VIII is both authentic and genuine, the implication is that the portrait really is of Henry VIII (and therefore authentic) and is really by Holbein (and therefore genuine). This distinction is difficult to maintain in practice, and items such as documents, antique furniture, signatures, and many others are regularly described as authentic or genuine without any identifiable distinction in meaning.
2. An especially important domain in which authentic has been used in recent years is that of ‘early’ music (i.e. before about 1700), where authentic instruments are those made and played according to the principles of the period in which the music was written; and so a violin (for example) can be an authentic baroque one, although it may be of modern manufacture and therefore not genuine or original. An increasingly common alternative is period instruments, first recorded in the 1920s but not widely used until the 1970s.

Modern English usage. 2014.

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  • Authentic — Au*then tic, a. [OE. autentik, OF. autentique, F. authentique, L. authenticus coming from the real author, of original or firsthand authority, from Gr. ?, fr. ? suicide, a perpetrator or real author of any act, an absolute master; a yto s self +… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • authentic — authentic, genuine, veritable, bona fide denote being exactly what the thing in question is said to be or professes to be. The prevailing sense of authentic is authoritative or trustworthy with the implication of actuality or accordance with fact …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • Authentic — • The term is used in two senses. It is applied first to a book or document whose contents are invested with a special authority, in virtue of which the work is called authentic. In its second sense it is used as a synonym for genuine , and… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • authentic — [ô then′tik] adj. [ME autentike < OFr autentique < LL authenticus < Gr authentikos, genuine < authentēs, one who does things himself < autos, self + hentēs < IE base * sen , to prepare, achieve] 1. that can be believed or… …   English World dictionary

  • authentic — (adj.) mid 14c., authoritative, from O.Fr. autentique (13c., Mod.Fr. authentique) authentic; canonical, and directly from M.L. authenticus, from Gk. authentikos original, genuine, principal, from authentes one acting on one s own authority, from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • authentic — I adjective accordant with the facts, according to the facts, accredited, accurate, actual, as represented, attested, authoritative, bona fide, certus, credible, demonstrated, dependable, documented, entitled to acceptance and belief, factual,… …   Law dictionary

  • Authentic — Au*then tic, n. An original (book or document). [Obs.] Authentics and transcripts. Fuller. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • authentic — [adj] real, genuine accurate, actual, authoritative, bona fide, certain, convincing, credible, creditable, dependable, factual, faithful, for real*, legit*, legitimate, official, original, pure, reliable, sure, true, trustworthy, trusty, twenty… …   New thesaurus

  • authentic — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ of undisputed origin; genuine. DERIVATIVES authentically adverb authenticity noun. ORIGIN Greek authentikos principal, genuine …   English terms dictionary

  • 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… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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