Result from Foreign Dictionaries (2 entries found)

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]: Authority \Au*thor"i*ty\, n.; pl. {Authorities}. [OE. autorite, auctorite, F. autorit['e], fr. L. auctoritas, fr. auctor. See {Author}, n.] 1. Legal or rightful power; a right to command or to act; power exercised buy a person in virtue of his office or trust; dominion; jurisdiction; authorization; as, the authority of a prince over subjects, and of parents over children; the authority of a court. [1913 Webster] Thus can the demigod, Authority, Make us pay down for our offense. --Shak. [1913 Webster] By what authority doest thou these things ? --Matt. xxi. 23. [1913 Webster] 2. Government; the persons or the body exercising power or command; as, the local authorities of the States; the military authorities. [Chiefly in the plural.] [1913 Webster] 3. The power derived from opinion, respect, or esteem; influence of character, office, or station, or mental or moral superiority, and the like; claim to be believed or obeyed; as, an historian of no authority; a magistrate of great authority. [1913 Webster] 4. That which, or one who, is claimed or appealed to in support of opinions, actions, measures, etc. Hence: (a) Testimony; witness. "And on that high authority had believed." --Milton. (b) A precedent; a decision of a court, an official declaration, or an opinion, saying, or statement worthy to be taken as a precedent. (c) A book containing such a statement or opinion, or the author of the book. (d) Justification; warrant. [1913 Webster] Wilt thou be glass wherein it shall discern Authority for sin, warrant for blame. --Shak. [1913 Webster] From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: authority n 1: the power or right to give orders or make decisions; "he has the authority to issue warrants"; "deputies are given authorization to make arrests"; "a place of potency in the state" [syn: {authority}, {authorization}, {authorisation}, {potency}, {dominance}, {say-so}] 2: (usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others; "the authorities have issued a curfew" 3: an expert whose views are taken as definitive; "he is an authority on corporate law" 4: freedom from doubt; belief in yourself and your abilities; "his assurance in his superiority did not make him popular"; "after that failure he lost his confidence"; "she spoke with authority" [syn: {assurance}, {self-assurance}, {confidence}, {self-confidence}, {authority}, {sureness}] 5: an administrative unit of government; "the Central Intelligence Agency"; "the Census Bureau"; "Office of Management and Budget"; "Tennessee Valley Authority" [syn: {agency}, {federal agency}, {government agency}, {bureau}, {office}, {authority}] 6: official permission or approval; "authority for the program was renewed several times" [syn: {authority}, {authorization}, {authorisation}, {sanction}] 7: an authoritative written work; "this book is the final authority on the life of Milton"