AUTHORITY
authority, authorization, authorisation, sanction
(noun) official permission or approval; “authority for the program was renewed several times”
authority, authorization, authorisation, potency, dominance, say-so
(noun) 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”
assurance, self-assurance, confidence, self-confidence, authority, sureness
(noun) 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”
authority
(noun) an authoritative written work; “this book is the final authority on the life of Milton”
agency, federal agency, government agency, bureau, office, authority
(noun) an administrative unit of government; “the Central Intelligence Agency”; “the Census Bureau”; “Office of Management and Budget”; “Tennessee Valley Authority”
authority
(noun) an expert whose views are taken as definitive; “he is an authority on corporate law”
authority
(noun) (usually plural) persons who exercise (administrative) control over others; “the authorities have issued a curfew”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
authority (countable and uncountable, plural authorities)
(uncountable) The power to enforce rules or give orders.
(used in singular or plural form) Persons in command; specifically, government.
(countable) A person accepted as a source of reliable information on a subject.
Government-owned agency which runs a revenue-generating activity.
Source: Wiktionary
Au*thor"i*ty, n.; pl. Authorities (. Etym: [OE. autorite, auctorite,
F. autorité, 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.
Thus can the demigod, Authority, Make us pay down for our offense.
Shak.
By what authority doest thou these things Matt. xxi. 23.
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.]
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.
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.
Wilt thou be glass wherein it shall discern Authority for sin,
warrant for blame. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition