Etymologically
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licentio

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Forms

licentio, licentiare, licentiavi, licentiatum; first conjugation; also spelled licencio.[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin licentia (“freedom, licence”), a Medieval Latin formation,[1][3] which is derived from licet (“it is permitted”);[4] that verb goes back to Proto-Italic *likē- (“to be available, have the value of”), with no certain cognates outside Italic.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first dated uses are from 1265: a charter in which nuns are permitted to keep surplus revenues,[1] and an English account of a licensed brewster.[3]

Semantic evolution

Beside “allow, license”, the verb meant giving someone leave to depart and so dismissing them, from service or from office;[5][2][6] in Hungarian sources it could mean banishing or removing someone.[2] In Polish feudal law it was used of granting land.[1]

At the universities it meant raising someone to the degree of licentiate, and the participle licentiatus named a candidate for or holder of that degree.[6][1] English records use it with infinitives, ut-clauses and other constructions, as in a York record of 1459 on where foreigners might lodge “unless otherwise licensed”.[3]

Timeline

  • 1265 – A charter and an English account use it for permitting.[1][3]
  • 1309 – A Hungarian charter uses it for giving a priest leave to set out on a journey.[2]
  • 1459 – A York record uses it for licensing foreigners' lodging.[3]
  • 1512 – A Hungarian record uses it for dismissing a captain from service.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (Medieval Latin) To permit, allow; to license or authorize.[5][3][2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) To give leave to depart; to dismiss, release from service or office.[5][2][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) To banish, remove.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin, feudal law) To grant (land).[1]
  5. (Medieval Latin) To confer the degree of licentiate on.[5][6][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  3. ^ a b c d e f Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences