An appeal to authority is any logical argument that relies significantly upon the authority of the person making that argument as support for that argument. It then becomes circular and flawed.
If you were to replace the person who is actually speaking with anyone else, and look at the same argument and its support, and it doesn't hold up, that's an appeal to authority.
It doesn't matter who the authority is. Just that there was an authority used to support a significantly unsupported argument
> An argument from authority (argumentum ab auctoritate), also called an appeal to authority, or argumentum ad verecundiam, is a form of argument in which a claim made by an authority on some topic is used as evidence to support one's own claim.
Further down:
> Historically, opinion on the appeal to authority has been divided: some hold that it can be a valid or at least defeasible.
You seem to be arguing for appeals to authority as defeasible.
Incorrectly understanding the authority you are quoting shows how problematic it is to make pure appeals to authority.
An appeal to authority is any logical argument that relies significantly upon the authority of the person making that argument as support for that argument. It then becomes circular and flawed.
If you were to replace the person who is actually speaking with anyone else, and look at the same argument and its support, and it doesn't hold up, that's an appeal to authority.
It doesn't matter who the authority is. Just that there was an authority used to support a significantly unsupported argument