permesso

Forms

permesso m (plural permessi); as an adjective, feminine permessa, plural permessi, permesse^[1]

Etymology

The adjective is the past participle of permettere, from Latin permittō (“to let go; to allow”).^[2][3][4] The noun is explained in two ways.^[5][6] Nocentini takes it as borrowed from Latin permissus (“permission”), a noun formed on the past participle of the Latin verb, with its stressed vowel remodelled after messo;^[5] Devoto–Oli, Treccani and the GDLI derive it from permissum, the neuter of the participle used as a noun.^[6][7][8] DELI and DEI simply list it with the participle of that verb.^[2][9] Compare French permis and Spanish permiso.^[5][9]

The Latin verb is a compound of per- and mittō (“to let go, send”), which de Vaan traces to an older sense “to exchange”.^[2][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adjective “allowed” is first recorded in the 14th-century Italian translation of the Collationes of the Abbot Isaac: “queste sono le tentazioni permesse da Dio” (these are the temptations permitted by God).^[2][11] The noun “permission” follows in Donato degli Albanzani (before 1411), who tells of a woman who “ebbe permesso dalla guardia” (was given leave by the guard) to enter a prison.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The polite question è permesso?, asked before entering a room, is recorded in Goldoni (1761); Tommaseo remarked that people often said it after they had already come in.^[2][11] The sense “short leave” for soldiers and clerks appears in 1824; in the Kingdom of Naples a permesso of up to 29 days was distinguished from the longer licenza granted by the king.^[2] The older noun permissione was still in use in the 19th century and then disappeared.^[2]

In the 20th century the word came to name the many written authorizations of administrative life: permesso di soggiorno (residence permit), permesso di pesca, and the permesso premio granted to prisoners.^[3][6][4]

Timeline

• 14th century – The adjective appears in the translation of the Abbot Isaac.^[2]
• Before 1411 – Donato degli Albanzani uses the noun.^[2]
• 1761 – Goldoni uses è permesso?^[2]
• 1824 – Permesso is recorded for a soldier's or employee's leave.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. allowed, permitted: Qui il parcheggio è permesso solo ai residenti.^[3][12][1]

Interjection

1. (è) permesso?: may I come in?; also permesso! to ask people to let one pass, “excuse me”.^[3][6][1]

Noun

1. permission, consent: Ha chiesto il permesso di uscire prima.^{[3][6][12][7]}
2. leave from work or military service, and the document granting it: È a casa in permesso per tre giorni.^[3][6][4][7]
3. A pass to enter a public office or a restricted area.^[3][13]
4. (law, administration) A permit or licence issued by a public authority: permesso di soggiorno, permesso di costruire.^[3][12][1]

Word family

• permissivo
• permissività
• permissivismo

Related words

• permettere
• permissibile
• permissionario
• permissione
• messo
• Latin permittō

Usage notes

Con permesso and the colloquial compermesso are said when entering or passing in front of someone.^[4][6][1] The GDLI also records Permesso, the name of a river of Boeotia that flows down from Mount Helicon, used by poets as a figure for poetry; it is a learned word from Greek.^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e f g h De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
5. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
8. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 62
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2859
10. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
11. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
12. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ Wikizionario (Italian Wiktionary), it.wiktionary.org
14. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 13, 63