Where does “authority” come from?
Authority comes from Middle English autorite, from Old French auctorité, from Latin auctoritatem, the accusative of auctoritas, meaning power or influence, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root h₂ewg-.
authority (English): The power to enforce rules or give orders;...
Definitions
- The power to enforce rules or give orders;...
Ancestry of “authority”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | auctorite | Legal authority or control; the privilege of... |
| 2 | Old French | autorité | authority |
| 3 | Latin | auctōritās | — |
| 4 | Latin | auctor | seller, vendor; author; authorship, agency,... |
| 5 | Latin | augeō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | augeō | to increase; to enlarge |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂owg-éye-ti | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ewg- | to increase, to enlarge |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂weg- | to increase, to enlarge |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ug- | — |
Words derived from “authority”