Something essential to establishing hierarchy - without authority there is no hierarchy
Here are few definition from Merriam - Webster:
power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior
- the president's authority
- Who gave you the authority to do as you wish?
persons in command
- specifically : GOVERNMENT
- the local authorities of each state
a governmental agency or corporation to administer a revenue-producing public enterprise
- the transit authority
- the city's housing authority
: GROUNDS, WARRANT
had excellent authority for believing the claim
- convincing force
- lent authority to the performance
a citation (as from a book or file) used in defense or support
- the source from which the citation is drawn
- He quoted extensively from the Bible, his sole authority.
a conclusive statement or set of statements (such as an official decision of a court)
- a decision taken as a precedent
TESTIMONY
an individual cited or appealed to as an expert
- The prosecutor called the psychiatrist as an authority.
