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permit

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: permît

English

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 permit on Wikipedia

Etymology 1

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From Middle English permitten , borrowed from Middle French permettre , from Latin permittō ("give up, allow"), from per ("through") + mittō ("send").

Pronunciation

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Verb

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permit (third-person singular simple present permits , present participle permitting , simple past and past participle permitted )

  1. (transitive ) To allow (something) to happen, to give permission for. [from 15th c.]
    • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode , New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 48:
      Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.
    • 1930 December 19, "Presbytarians", in Time:
      Last week the decision on two points was conclusive: the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. will not permit ordination of women as ministers, but will permit their election as ruling elders, permission which makes possible a woman as moderator.
  2. (transitive ) To allow (someone) to do something; to give permission to. [from 15th c.]
    • 2009, Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 17 Jan 09, p. 1:
      He was ultimately cleared, but during that period, Mr. Ackman said, his lawyers would not permit him to defend himself publicly.
  3. (intransitive ) To allow for, to make something possible. [from 16th c.]
    • 2006 December 3, Mary Riddell, "Trident is a Weapon of Mass Destruction", in The Observer:
      What was left to say? Quite a lot, if only parliamentary time permitted.
    • 2009 July 25, John Mitchell, "Clubs Preview", in The Guardian:
      For snackage there's a 1950s-themed diner plus a barbie on the terrace, weather permitting.
  4. (intransitive ) To allow, to admit (of). [from 18th c.]
    • 1910, Saki [pseudonym; Hector Hugh Munro], "Reginald in Russia", in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches, London: Methuen & Co.  [...], →OCLC, page 4:
      "You English are always so frivolous," said the Princess. "In Russia we have too many troubles to permit of our being light-hearted."
      per
    • 2007, Ian Jack, The Guardian, 22 Sep 07:
      "As an instrument of economic policy, incantation does not permit of minor doubts or scruples."
  5. (transitive , pronounced like noun) To grant formal authorization for (something).
    The Building Department permitted that project last week.
    • 2022 September 20, Ezra Klein, quoting Jesse Jenkins, "Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Jesse Jenkins", in The New York Times‎[1] , →ISSN:
      [...] they have not expanded so far federal permitting authority to site and permit transmission lines that are important for interstate commerce.
  6. (transitive , pronounced like noun) To attempt to obtain or succeed in obtaining formal authorization for (something).
    We've been busy permitting the State Street development.
  7. (now archaic , rare ) To hand over, resign (something to someone). [from 15th c.]
Usage notes
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Derived terms
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Translations
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transitive: allow something to happen
transitive: allow someone to do something
reflexive: allow oneself to do something

Noun

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permit (plural permits )

  1. An artifact or document rendering something allowed or legal. [from 17th c.]
    A construction permit can be obtained from the town offices.
    Go over to the park office and get a permit for the #3 shelter.
    1. A learner's permit .
  2. (obsolete ) Formal permission. [16th–19th c.]
    Synonyms: allowance , authorization , sanction ; see also Thesaurus:permission
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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An irregular borrowing from Spanish palometa , probably from a Doric variant of Ancient Greek πηλαμύς (pēlamús, "young tuna").

Pronunciation

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Noun

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permit (plural permit)

  1. A pompano of the species Trachinotus falcatus .
See also
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Anagrams

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French

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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permit

  1. third-person singular past historic of permettre

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