The eight-letter word meaning “to give credit or authority to” is accredit. As a verb, “accredit” can mean to officially recognize someone as having a particular status, qualification, or authority, or to attribute an achievement or statement to its source. For example, an institution may be accredited by an official body, while a quotation may be accredited to a particular author.
The word comes from the Latin credere, meaning “to believe” or “to trust,” through forms related to credit. That same root appears in words such as credible, credit, credentials, and credential. Accreditation therefore carries the idea that a trusted authority has examined something and accepted it as meeting a standard.
A frequent confusion is the difference between “accredit” and “accrue.” “Accredit” concerns recognition, authorization, or attribution; “accrue” means to accumulate gradually. “Accredit” is also often used in the passive form, as in “the university is accredited,” because the recognition is granted by an external organization.