permis

Forms

permis m (invariable)^[1] As an adjective (the past participle): permis, feminine permise.^[2][3] An older feminine noun permisse "permission" is recorded about 1360, in Froissart, and has gone out of use.^[4][5][3]

Etymology

It is the past participle from French permettre, used as an adjective and a noun.^[6][4][7] The verb is from Latin permittō (“to let go, allow”), refashioned in French after mettre.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The participle was used as a noun from about 1360, first in the feminine form permisse "permission".^[4][5] The masculine noun is first found in 1721, in letters patent, meaning a written permission.^[6][4]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective, permis has meant "allowed" since the 16th century; the familiar se croire tout permis, of someone who thinks no rule applies to him, goes back to Boileau (1667).^[3]

The masculine noun took over the sense of the old permisse, and in current use it chiefly names the document that grants an authorization.^[4] The administrative phrases followed: permis de port d'armes (1801), permis de circulation (by 1869), and permis de conduire (1905), which is now often shortened to permis alone.^[6][3][4] The permis à points, in which a driver loses points for each offence until the licence is withdrawn, appeared around 1990 and was adopted in France in 1992.^[4][9] In customs language the compound permis-chef (1963) names a declaration of goods.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1360 – The feminine noun permisse "permission" appears in Froissart.^[4][3]
• 1667 – Boileau uses the adjective in the sense found in se croire tout permis.^[3]
• 1721 – The masculine noun permis "written permission" is recorded.^[6][7]
• 1801 – Permis de port d'armes "firearms licence" is recorded.^[6]
• 1869 – Littré records permis de circulation.^[3]
• 1905 – Permis de conduire "driving licence" appears.^[4][9]
• 1992 – The permis à points is adopted in France.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. An official written permit or licence: permis de construire, permis de chasse, permis de séjour.^[9][6][10]
2. A driving licence (permis de conduire), often simply le permis: elle a passé son permis le mois dernier.^[9][10]
3. (mining) An authorization to explore or work a mine within a given area.^[11]
4. What is allowed, as opposed to what is forbidden: le permis et le défendu.^[6]

Adjective

1. Permitted, allowed: les aliments permis.^[3][2]
2. Tout est permis: anything goes.^[2]
3. (familiar) Se croire tout permis: to think one can do anything, to know no restraint.^[3]

Related words

• permettre
• permission
• Latin permittō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 251a
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)