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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Authority \Au*thor"i*ty\, noun; pl. {Authorities}. [OE. autorite, auctorite, F. autorit['e], fr. L. auctoritas, fr. auctor. See {Author}, noun]
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.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
authority
noun
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" [syn: {authorization}, {authorisation}, {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}, {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}]
6: official permission or approval; "authority for the program was renewed several times" [syn: {authorization}, {authorisation}, {sanction}]
7: an authoritative written work; "this book is the final authority on the life of Milton"
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
426 Moby Thesaurus words for "authority": Admirable Crichton, acme, adept, administration, adviser, affidavit, aficionado, agency, agentship, amateur, amperage, announcer, annunciator, appurtenance, arbiter, arbiter elegantiarum, arbiter of taste, armipotence, artisan, artist, artiste, ascendancy, assignment, attache, attestation, authoritativeness, authorities, authority, authorization, be-all and end-all, beef, bill of health, birthright, black power, blue ribbon, bon vivant, brevet, brute force, buff, care, certificate, certificate of proficiency, certification, championship, channel, charge, charisma, charm, claim, claws, clearance, clout, clutches, cogence, cogency, cognoscente, collector, command, commission, commissioning, commitment, communicant, communicator, compulsion, conduct, conjugal right, connaisseur, connoisseur, consequence, consignment, consultant, control, cordon bleu, countenance, crack shot, craftsman, credential, credit, critic, cure, dead shot, delegated authority, delegation, demand, deposition, deputation, devolution, devolvement, dilettante, dint, diploma, diplomat, diplomatist, direction, directorship, disposition, divine right, doctor, dominance, domination, dominion, drive, droit, due, duress, effect, effectiveness, effectuality, elder, elder statesman, embassy, eminence, empery, empire, empowerment, enabling, enchantment, energy, enfranchisement, enlightener, entitlement, entrusting, entrustment, epicure, epicurean, errand, establishment, esteem, evidence, example, executorship, exemplar, exequatur, experienced hand, experimental scientist, expert, expert consultant, expert witness, factorship, faculty, fan, favor, fiat, first place, first prize, flower power, force, force majeure, forcefulness, freak, full blast, full force, full power, good feeling, good judge, gossipmonger, gourmand, gourmet, governance, government, graduate, grapevine, great soul, greatness, grip, guidance, guru, hand, handling, hands, handy man, headship, hegemony, height, highest, hold, husbandry, ideal, illuminate, imperium, importance, inalienable right, incidental power, influence, influentiality, influentialness, informant, information center, information medium, informer, insinuation, intellect, intellectual, interest, interviewee, iron hand, journeyman, judge, jurisdiction, justness, kingship, lead, leadership, leading, legation, leverage, license, lieutenancy, lordship, lover of wisdom, magisterialness, magnetism, mahatma, main force, main strength, man of intellect, man of science, man of wisdom, mana, management, managery, managing, mandarin, mandate, manipulation, marksman, master, mastermind, mastership, mastery, maven, maximum, mentor, might, might and main, mightiness, mission, model, moment, monitor, most, mouthpiece, moxie, muscle power, navicert, ne plus ultra, new high, newsmonger, no slouch, notarized statement, note, notifier, nut, office, officialdom, officials, oracle, ordering, palms, paramountcy, past master, pattern, personality, persuasion, philosopher, pilotage, pizzazz, plenipotentiary power, police, politician, poop, potence, potency, potentiality, power, power of attorney, power pack, power structure, power struggle, power to act, powerfulness, powers that be, practical scientist, precedence, predominance, preponderance, prepotency, prerogative, prescription, presidency, press, pressure, prestige, presumptive right, pretense, pretension, primacy, priority, pro, procuration, productiveness, productivity, professional, professor, proficient, prominence, proper claim, property right, proxy, public relations officer, publisher, puissance, pull, punch, pundit, purchase, purview, push, rabbi, radio, raj, rank, ratification, record, refined palate, regency, regentship, regnancy, regulation, reign, reporter, repute, responsibility, right, rishi, rule, running, sage, sanction, sapient, savant, say, say-so, scholar, scientist, seer, seniority, shark, sharp, sheepskin, sinew, solidity, soundness, source, sovereignty, specialist, spokesman, standard, starets, statesman, stature, steam, steerage, steering, strength, strings, strong arm, suasion, substantiality, subtle influence, suggestion, superiority, superpower, supremacy, sway, sworn statement, talons, task, technical adviser, technical expert, technician, technologist, television, teller, testamur, testimonial, testimony, the conn, the helm, the wheel, thinker, ticket, tipster, title, top spot, tout, trust, trusteeship, upper hand, validity, vehemence, vested interest, vested right, vicarious authority, vigor, vim, virility, virtue, virtuoso, virulence, visa, vise, vitality, voucher, warrant, warranty, wattage, weight, weightiness, whip hand, wise man, wise old man, witness, wizard, word, zenith
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