Etymograph

English

license

License comes from Old French licence, from Latin licentia, from licēns ‘free’, from licet ‘it is allowed’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElicet1as licere, present participle‘it is allowed’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElicēns1‘free, unrestrained’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElicentia1
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400licence1‘leave’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500licence1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1850license1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English license
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1850, [Alfred, Canto XXVII: “I envy not the beast that takes ⁠His license…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElicetWiktionary, English licenseas licere, present participle‘it is allowed’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElicēnsWiktionary, English license‘free, unrestrained’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElicentiaWiktionary, English license
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400licenceWiktionary, English license‘leave’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500licenceWiktionary, English license
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1850licenseWiktionary, English license. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1850, [Alfred, Canto XXVII: “I envy not the beast that takes ⁠His license…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with license, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Latin licet ‘to be allowed, be allowable’

  • leisure ← leyser ← leisir ← loisir
  • illicit ← illicite ← illicitus ← licitus

4 more relatives in the full family tree

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Another origin of license

  1. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500licentiō
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400licencer
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500licencen
  4. Englishtodaylicense

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Today it means

noun A legal document giving official permission to do something; a permit.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “license”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin licet / license