A public key certificate, also known as a digital certificate or identity certificate, is an electronic document used to prove the validity of a public key.
The certificate includes:
- information about the key,
- information about the identity of its owner (called the subject),
- the digital signature of an entity that has verified the certificate's contents (called the issuer).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_key_certificate
A digital certificate certifies the ownership of a public key by the named subject of the certificate.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certificate_authority
Digital certificates bind an entity, such as an individual, organization, or system, to a specific pair of public and private keys.
A certificate is contained in a digital signature and verifies the origin of the signature.
learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/install/digital-certificates#digital-certificates