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licens

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word licens

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC, Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin licet
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin licet
Latin licens
From the same root
Latin ilicet ← licet
Latin licenter ← licens

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈlɪ.kẽːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈliː.t͡ʃens][1]

Forms

licēns (genitive licentis, comparative licentior, adverb licenter); third-declension one-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin licet (“it is permitted”), its present participle used as an adjective.[2][3][1] The OLD files it as the participle of liceō.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler finds it first in Cicero (81–43 BC).[5] In De oratore Cicero calls the dithyramb “freer and richer” (licentior et dīvitior).[4]

Semantic evolution

Used of people it means unrestrained, free and presumptuous: Propertius calls the Lupercus licēns, Seneca's tragedy Phaedra a band of Naiads, and Gellius writes quam audācēs et quam licentēs sumus, “how bold and how free we are”.[4][3] Of conduct, rule and writing it means free or unrestricted: Valerius Maximus has licentior vīta, Pliny the Elder a “rather free” letter in the preface of his Natural History, and Statius a free game.[4][3] The adverb is licenter.[1]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of a freer dithyramb.[4][5]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius uses it of a person, the Lupercus.[4][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder calls a letter licentior.[4][5]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius: quam audācēs et quam licentēs sumus.[4][3][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (of persons) Unrestrained, free, bold, presumptuous.[4][3][1]
  2. (of conduct, rule, writing) Free, unrestricted; licentious.[4][3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de

Derived terms

Cite this entry

“Licens.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/licens. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·