authenticatorn.
/ɔːˈθɛntᵻkeɪtə/, U.S. /əˈθɛn(t)əˌkeɪdər/, /ɔˈθɛn(t)əˌkeɪdər/, /ɑˈθɛn(t)əˌkeɪdər/ 1. A person who authenticates something; one who guarantees a thing as valid, true, reliable, or genuine.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [noun] > making valid > one who authenticates
authenticator1778
1778 Def. Theophilus Lindsey i. 13 These..are the essentials of christian belief or religious truth; and..all point to the heart as their first mover and authenticator.
1833 Dublin Univ. Mag. Apr. 412/1 The inspectors of schools, the authenticators of a census, the ex-officio managers of boards of health.
1863 J. G. Murphy Crit. Comm. Bk. Gen. (ii. 8–14) 102 That Moses was not merely the authenticator but the composer of this as well as the preceding and subsequent documents of Genesis.
1908 Everybody's Mag. May 709/1 Must we call in the handwriting expert even here as authenticator?
1959 Public Admin. Rev. 19 122/1 The mayor is merely a presiding officer, ceremonial greeter, and authenticator of legal documents.
2000 Cape Times 19 July i. 4/7 The growing concern about Van Gogh fakes has spawned a cottage industry of authenticators.
2. Computing. A device or piece of software that allows a user to be authenticated; a packet of data showing that a user or process has been authenticated.
ΚΠ
1981 National Jrnl. 15 Aug. 1463/3 One [sc. military aide] always follows the President with the ‘black bag’—a coding authenticator for use in response to a nuclear attack.
1994 Sci. Amer. Nov. 57/1 The workstation forwards..an additional packet of data, called an authenticator, to the server.
2008 Business Wire (Nexis) 29 Apr. Fiddly hand held authenticators, already introduced by some banks, are not the right solution.
2012 WoW Insider (Nexis) 31 Mar. The mobile authenticator is an incredibly lightweight app.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1778