digital certificate
compound.compound. an electronic file that proves who you are or that a website is safe. It works like a digital passport to keep your information secure when you use the internet.
compound. an electronic document used to prove the ownership of a public key. It contains information about the identity of the owner and the digital signature of an entity that has verified the certificate's contents.
The website is secure because it has a valid digital certificate.
When the browser warned that the digital certificate had expired, the user decided not to enter their credit card details.
By using a digital certificate issued by a trusted authority, the company ensures that all data transmitted between the server and the client remains encrypted and authenticated.
A compound of the adjective digital, derived from the Latin digitus, and the noun certificate, from the Old French certificat. The term follows the established linguistic pattern of prefixing traditional physical documents with digital to denote their electronic equivalents.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often used in technical contexts regarding cybersecurity and web browsing; frequently paired with the verbs 'issue', 'verify', or 'revoke'.
Last updated July 22, 2026