Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2023 is authentic. Authentic saw a significant upsurge in search engine lookups. Authentic appeared in articles and conversations about AI, celebrities, identity, and social media. Authentic is something we are thinking about, aspiring to, and judging more by.
The Middle English word autentik came from the Latin authenticus, meaning approved by authority. This came from the Greek authentikos, warranted as genuine, original, authoritative, which is derived from the Greek verb authenteo, meaning having authority. Historically, some authority guaranteed authenticity. It was first used in English in the 1300s as authoritative, a meaning now obsolete.
A desirable quality, authentic is hard to define and subject to debate, which is why it sends many people to check its meaning. Its primary meaning today is real, not false or imitation. Authentic implies being true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character. Authenticity can be complying with the facts. In that sense it conforms to an original, reproducing essential features. The builders created an authentic reproduction of a historic prairie sod house. Authentic implies that something is done or made in the same way. He chose the menu for Christmas dinner based on authentic Norwegian cuisine.
Authentic has been connected to personal identity and national identity, including self, voice, cuisine, and dish. Taylor Swift made headlines in 2023 with her Eras Tour claiming authenticity throughout all her musical eras. With the rise of artificial intelligence, the line between authentic and fake has become increasingly fuzzy. AI has had a major impact on deep fake videos, actors’ contracts, academic honesty, and an immense number of other issues concerning the medium.
Authentic is what brands, social media influencers, and celebrities aspire to be. Elon Musk stated that people should be more authentic on social media. Apps and platforms make recording authentic experiences their main purpose. Rebecca Jennings of Vox wrote, “wherever people are supposedly being ‘authentic’ on the internet, the money will follow.” For authentic content creators, authenticity has become a performance.
It seems to me that when many people use authentic today it is authorized by oneself, no independent authority. This aligns with the mantra ‘be true to yourself’. This means thinking and acting in ways that align with your own values and feelings, rather than the values of others. But what is the origin of one’s own values and feelings? Is it just a case of being my own god? Which, as the Bible points out, is the root problem with fallen humanity.
Christians believe that since the Fall of Adam there has been no truly authentic person except for Jesus the Christ. The Bible claims Jesus came to set us free from our distorted selves and give us an authentic life in God’s plans.
An ancient 5th century hymn for the Epiphany (January 6) declares:
O Saviour of our fallen race, O Brightness of the Father’s face,
O Son who shared the Father’s might before the world knew day or night.
O Jesus, very Light of Light, our constant star in sin’s deep night:
Now hear the prayers Your people pray throughout the world this holy day.
Remember, Lord of life and grace, how once, to save our fallen race,
You put our human vesture on and came to us as Mary’s son.
For from the Father’s throne You came, His banished children to reclaim,
And earth and sea and sky revere the love of Him who sent You here.
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
