Authority

Dictionary Definition

n. permission, a right coupled with the power to do an act or order others to act. Often one person gives another authority to act, as an employer to an employee, a principal to an agent, a corporation to its officers, or governmental empowerment to perform certain functions. There are different types of authority, including “apparent authority” when a principal gives an agent various signs of authority to make others believe he or she has authority; “express authority” or “limited authority,” which spells out exactly what authority is granted (usually a written set of instructions) “implied authority,” which flows from the position one holds and “general authority,” which is the broad power to act for another.