permissus

Forms

permissus m (genitive permissūs); fourth declension^[1][2] Except in a few later passages it is found only in the ablative singular permissū.^[3][4] Inscriptions also write permisū and abbreviate it permiss., perm. or p.^[3]

Etymology

It is from Latin permittō (“to allow, entrust”) + -tus, a verbal noun of the fourth declension.^[1][5] That verb is formed with per- from mittō (“to send, let go”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero,^[6][7] in phrases such as permissū lēgis, “with the permission of the law”, and permissū tuō, “with your permission”.^[7][4][8]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant permission or authorization, almost always in the ablative with a genitive of the person who grants it: by someone's leave.^[1][7][4] Cicero, Livy and Velleius use it in this way, and Tacitus also uses permissū alone.^[7][4] Later writers, especially the jurists, also have the accusative, as in citrā permissum praetōris, “without the praetor's permission”,^[7][4] and the Vulgate has permissū sacerdōtum, “with the authority of the priests”.^[7]

Medieval British writers kept the classical use, for permission given by a king, an abbot or a pontiff, and spoke of things happening Deī permissū, “by God's permission”.^[9]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses permissū lēgis and permissū tuō.^[7][6]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it with the genitive of a commander or a people.^[7][4][6]
• c. 20 BC–30 AD – Velleius Paterculus uses it.^[7][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate speaks of the permission of the priests.^[7][6]
• 533 AD – The Digest has the accusative permissum.^[7][6]
• c. 780 – A charter is issued with the leave and permission of King Offa of Mercia.^[9]
• 1102 – A council forbids monks to impose penance without their abbot's permission.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Permission, leave, authorization; usually in the ablative, permissū “by the leave (of)”.^[1][7][4][9]

Usage notes

Permissus, -a, -um is also the perfect participle of permittō,^[2][7][8] and its neuter permissum was used as a noun, “what is allowed, a permission”, from Horace on; the TLL notes that some of its accusatives may belong to this noun instead.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d 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