Authority
Authority (from the Latin auctoritas) is a right conferred by recognized social position. Authority often refers to power vested in an individual or organization by the state. Authority can also refer to recognized expertise in an area of academic knowledge. An Authority (capitalized) refers to a governing body upon which certain authority (with lower case a) is vested.
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Famous quotes containing the word authority:
“I believe I’m a better authority than anybody else in America on my own wife. I have never known a person with a stronger sense of right and wrong in my life—ever.”
—Bill Clinton (b. 1946)
“Destiny. A tyrant’s authority for crime and a fool’s excuse for failure.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)
“No man has any natural authority over his fellow men.”
—Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778)