(D) In general English usage, this term usually means "to prove genuine" (e.g., an art expert authenticates a Michelangelo painting). But the recommended definition carries a much narrower meaning. For example, to be precise, an ISD SHOULD NOT say "the host authenticates each received datagram". Instead, the ISD SHOULD say "the host authenticates the origin of each received datagram". In most cases, we also can say "and verifies the datagram's integrity", because that is usually implied. (See: ("relationship between data integrity service and authentication services" under) data integrity service.)

(D) ISDs SHOULD NOT talk about authenticating a digital signature or digital certificate. Instead, we "sign" and then "verify" digital signatures, and we "issue" and then "validate" digital certificates. (See: validate vs. verify.)

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