My professor used the word authentification in a lecture. I have always used authentication. Is it a real word or is authentication the correct term?
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Several other languages use the form with "fi" and even though the "authentication" is correct in english, "authentification" suggests itself. Also "Authentification" in this exact form comes from french. – Qwerty May 9 '17 at 9:27
Authentication is the preferred form in English. The variant authentification is acceptable, but less common—it’s often used by non-native speakers who aren’t aware that it’s less idiomatic in English, because authentification (or an analogue) is the correct form (or at least widely accepted) in many eastern & western European languages:
- Azerbaijani: autentifikasiyası
- Basque: autentifikazio
- Belarusian: аўтэнтыфікацыя (autentyfikatsyja)
- Bosnian: autentifikacija
- Corsican: autentificazione
- Czech: autentifikace
- Danish: autentificering
- Dutch: autenti(fi)catie
- French: authentification
- German: Authenti(fi)kation
- Haitian: otantifikasyon
- Kazakh: аутентификация (autyentifikatsiya)
- Latvian: autentifikācija
- Lithuanian: autentifikavimas
- Luxembourgish: authentifikatioun
- Romanian: autentificare
- Russian: аутентификация (autyentifikatsiya)
- Spanish: autenti(fi)cación
- Hi Taylor Optical Star Chuck Kids White Trainers Converse White Unisex All Ukrainian: автентифікація (avtyentifikatsiya)
- Uzbek: autentifikatsiya
(Source: Google Translate—transliterations from Cyrillic are a best effort and may not be standard/accurate for all languages.)
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary and Wikipedia, authentication was the original form, via Latin authenticare, from Greek αὐθεντικός (authentikos), from αὐθέντης (authentis) “author” + -ικός (-ikos) “relating to”—cf. Latin -ic(us).
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the change to authentification seems to have happened in the mid-18th century—in English at least. It likely arose by analogy with similar words such as personification, modification, Taylor Unisex White Hi Trainers All Chuck White Kids Optical Converse Star ratification, unification, &c., which all include the Latin element -fic-, from ficare, the combining form of facere, “to make”.
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8In German it is also spelled Authentifikation, and I see it getting mistranslated to authentification every time. – kapex Dec 5 '13 at 10:11
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4In Russian it is also spelled with fi: Аутентификация (Autentificatsiya). – Igonato Women's Heels Glowing Black Nine Platforms West 5PSwWWnRq6
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2We have clients: From Austria, Germany and Spain, many of them are English speakers but they insists to use Authentification!!! – Sakher Apr 10 '15 at 16:47
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1It looks like authentification has been gaining popularity; it's about 4x more popular today than it was in the 60s. That being said, authentication is still approximately 700-800 times more prevalent. Link to Google ngram viewer: books.google.com/ngrams/… – saritonin R1 Pool and Shoes 02308 Ii Lunar Beach Plus Black Men’s Black 4aZwqxY51x
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2In Czech it is also "Autentifikace", that's why I am having such a hard time to get it right when using english. – Kennel Skin Schmenger Strappy Und Sandal High 868qZTg Jul 16 '15 at 5:54
Authentification is a French word. After a bit on research on its origin, it would seem that the word is actually composed of three parts :
- authentique (authentic)
- fic → faire (to do)
- ation → action
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8Actually "faire" doesn't explain the "c" in there - I would guess that this came from the "c" in Latin "facere". Also your use of "action" (which comes from "agere" + "-io" suffix) is kind of misleading, I'd say it's actually the "-io" suffix at work on a form of "facere", nothing to do with the verb at root in "action". – asveikau Oct 8 '12 at 6:06
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5and the 'c' is a remnant of Latin's c in the verb facio (I do), facere, feci, factum from which faire derives. – CM 5 snakeskin 3 wellignton Heel cavalier boots Shoes Black Block Women's Heel Sopily Boots rain chains High Fashion golden Knee YqUv1aTw Oct 8 '12 at 6:07Flat Nine Women's Grey Toe Synthetic Pointed West Aquino Tw6pHwqZ
protected by tchrist♦ Mar 1 '15 at 18:38
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