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Etymology and origin of the English word license

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1362 More words from the 14th century
Borrowed from
Old French licence via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin licentia

Pronunciation

  • /ˈlaɪ.səns/[1]

Forms

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English licence, borrowed from Old French licence (“freedom, liberty, permission”),[2][3] from Latin licentia (“freedom, liberty; licentiousness”),[2][3][4] from licēns, licentis, the present participle of licet “to be allowed, be lawful”.[2][3] Barnhart traces licet to Proto-Indo-European *leik-, also seen in Oscan likitud “let it be allowed” and Latvian līkt “to come to terms”.[3][4] The spelling with -se arose by analogy with pairs such as practice and practise.[5] It is related to licit, illicit and licentious.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Liberty or permission to do something: 1362 in the OED;[6] before 1376 in Barnhart, in Piers Plowman, as permission given by law.[3] Middle English also spelled it licens, lisence and lissens.[2]

Semantic evolution

Formal, usually written, permission from an authority, to marry, hunt and later drive, is from the early 15th century (1433 in the OED),[2][6] and the document itself from 1598.[6] Excessive liberty or disregard of rules is from the mid-15th century,[2][6] hence licentious.[2] Deviation from rules by a writer or artist for effect is from 1530, as lycence poetycall,[2][6] and poetic licence is from 1733.[2] The verb, to give formal permission, is from about 1400.[2][3] The license plate is from 1870, first for dogs and wagons,[2] and licensee from 1868.[3]

Timeline

  • 1362 – permission.[6]
  • c. 1400 – verb, to authorize.[2][3]
  • 1433 – formal written permission.[6]
  • mid-15th century – excessive liberty.[2]
  • 1530 – licence in art or writing.[2][6]
  • 1598 – the document.[6]
  • 1868 – licensee.[3]
  • 1870 – license plate.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An official document giving permission to do, use or own something: a driver's license.
  2. Formal permission from an authority.
  3. Freedom to act as one wishes, sometimes too much freedom.
  4. Departure from the usual rules in art or writing for effect: poetic license.

Verb

  1. To give official permission to or for something.

Word family

  • licensable
  • licensed
  • licenseless
  • licensee
  • licensure
  • licentious
  • sublicense
  • off-license

Usage notes

There have been attempts to keep license for the verb and licence for the noun, as with advise and advice.[2] British English mostly does this, while in American English license serves as both.[2][7]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“License.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/license. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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