Authorize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Authorized (; p. pr. & vb. n. Authorizing.]
Etymology: [OE. autorize, F. autoriser, fr. LL. auctorizare, authorisare. See Author.]
1. To clothe with authority, warrant, or legal power; to give a right to act; to empower; as, to authorize commissioners to settle a boundary.
2. To make legal; to give legal sanction to; to legalize; as, to authorize a marriage.
3. To establish by authority, as by usage or public opinion; to sanction; as, idioms authorized by usage.
4. To sanction or confirm by the authority of some one; to warrant; as, to authorize a report. A woman's story at a winter's fire, Authorized by her grandam. Shak.
1 more senses
5. To justify; to furnish a ground for. Locke.