Authority

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:

    Women who assume authority are unnatural. Unnatural women are lesbians. Therefore all the leaders of the women’s movement were presumed to be lesbians.
    Jane O’Reilly, U.S. feminist and humorist. The Girl I Left Behind, ch. 8 (1980)

    Freedom of conscience entails more dangers than authority and despotism.
    Michel Foucault (1926–1984)