"Authorize" and "Authenticate" are excellent words. They go back to medieval times and haven't changed meaning too much.
Everybody knows what an "authority" is. It means they have power or capability.
Everybody knows what authentic means. Something that is proven to be genuine.
The difference between the two concepts, as they are used in crypto systems are specific, important to get right, and also inherently intertwined, confusing, and subtle. I'm skeptical that changing the words would help.
It's one of the many reasons we have the saying, "Don't roll your own crypto."
Everybody knows what an "authority" is. It means they have power or capability.
Everybody knows what authentic means. Something that is proven to be genuine.
The difference between the two concepts, as they are used in crypto systems are specific, important to get right, and also inherently intertwined, confusing, and subtle. I'm skeptical that changing the words would help.
It's one of the many reasons we have the saying, "Don't roll your own crypto."
Trust and verification are just hard problems.