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permiso

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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word permiso

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1570 a document from Mexico City More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Latin permissum
Ultimate origin
Latin mitto

Pronunciation

  • /peɾˈmiso/, [peɾˈmi.so][1]

Forms

permiso m (plural permisos)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin permissum (“permission”),[2][1] which belongs to permittō (“to allow”), formed from per- and mittō (“to send”).[3] Corominas treats it with permitir (1438) under the verb meter, and dates the noun to the 17th century.[4] In Old Spanish the word was first an irregular past participle of the verb, “permitted”.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a participle the word appears in the Fuero de Plasencia (c. 1300; the DEMel dates the text 1221), on what permiso fuere o dado “shall be granted or given” to the bride and groom on the wedding day.[7][8] Juan Fernández de Heredia's translation of Orosius (1376–1396) still pairs it with otorgado “granted”.[7] As a noun, “permission”, Boyd-Bowman's first record is a document from Mexico City of 1570: con permisso de el Ilustrísimo Señor Doctor D. Francisco de Aguilar.[9]

Semantic evolution

The Diccionario de Autoridades, spelling it permisso, defined it as leave or consent to do or say something, quoting Sister María de Ágreda's por el divino permisso “by divine permission”.[10] The Academy's 1884 edition added the tolerance allowed in the fineness or weight of coins.[5] The DLE today also has a period of authorised leave from work, and Moliner the document in which a permission is written.[2][6] In Mexico, Central America and parts of South America con permiso is also a polite formula for taking one's leave.[11]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – the Fuero de Plasencia uses permiso as a participle, “granted”.[7][8]
  • 1376–1396 – Fernández de Heredia's Orosius has permisso et otorgado.[7]
  • 1570 – a document from Mexico City has con permisso de “with the permission of”.[9]
  • 1584 – a text from Lima has el permisso que se le dio “the permission that was given to him”.[9]
  • 17th century – Corominas's date for the noun.[4]
  • 1726–1739 – the Diccionario de Autoridades defines permisso as leave or consent.[10]
  • 1884 – the Academy adds the tolerance in coinage and calls the word an old participle of permitir.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. permission, leave or consent to do or say something; the document that grants it, a licence.[2][1][6]
  2. A period during which someone is allowed to be away from work or other duties: leave: Pidió un permiso de dos semanas.[2][1]
  3. In coinage, the permitted difference between a coin's actual fineness or weight and its standard.[2]

Usage notes

Con permiso, or simply permiso, is said when passing in front of someone or leaving; in Mexico, Central America and parts of South America it is a polite way of taking one's leave.[11][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. permiso
  3. ^ Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv
  4. ^ a b Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. meter
  5. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 818
  6. ^ a b c Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos
  7. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE
  8. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock
  9. ^ a b c Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies
  10. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 5, 227
  11. ^ a b Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2010), Diccionario de americanismos, Lima: Santillana; online at https://www.asale.org/damer

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Permiso.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/permiso. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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