licet

Forms

licet (present infinitive licēre, perfect active licuit or licitus est, supine licitum); second conjugation, third person-only, optionally semi-deponent, no passive^[1] The perfect is licuit or licitum est, used by classical writers apparently without difference.^[2][1] Plautus has the old future perfect licessit, and laws have the imperative licētō.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *lik-ē- (“to be available, have the value of”).^[4] De Vaan thinks the first meaning was “to be on offer, be for sale, be worth”, as in liceō (“to fetch a price”) and liceor (“to bid”); there are no certain cognates outside Italic.^[4][1] Oscan líkítud (“let it be permitted”) is borrowed or calqued from Latin.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Naevius.^[4] Plautus has intrō īre in aedīs numquam licitum est, “it was never allowed to go into the house”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Licet is “it is permitted, one may”, with an infinitive, an accusative and infinitive, or a subjunctive (Plautus: licet mē id scīre quid sit?, “may I know what it is?”).^[2][3][1] In dialogue it is an answer to a request, “yes, certainly” (Plautus).^[2] With a neuter pronoun as subject it is “to be permitted” (Cicero: tibi hoc licitum esse).^[2]

With the subjunctive it became a conjunction, “although, even if” (Cicero: licet iste dīcat ēmisse sē, “although he may say he bought it”), later also with the indicative (Apuleius) or with no verb (Propertius, Ovid).^[2][1][5] From it were formed scīlicet (“evidently”), vidēlicet (“clearly”) and īlicet (“you may go”).^[4]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^[4][6]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: intrō īre in aedīs numquam licitum est.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero: licet iste dīcat, “although he may say”.^[2][6]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius has it with the indicative.^[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. (impersonal) It is permitted, one may.^[2][3][1][5]
2. (as a reply) Yes, certainly.^[2]

Conjunction

1. although, even if.^[2][1][5]

Word family

• īlicet
• illicitus
• licēns
• licenter
• licentia
• licentiātus
• licentiōsus
• licēscit
• licitus
• scīlicet
• vidēlicet

Related words

• liceō
• liceor

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f 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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de