LICENSE

license, permission, permit

(noun) the act of giving a formal (usually written) authorization

license, licence, permit

(noun) a legal document giving official permission to do something

license, licence

(noun) freedom to deviate deliberately from normally applicable rules or practices (especially in behavior or speech)

license, licence

(noun) excessive freedom; lack of due restraint; “when liberty becomes license dictatorship is near”- Will Durant; “the intolerable license with which the newspapers break...the rules of decorum”- Edmund Burke

license, licence, certify

(verb) authorize officially; “I am licensed to practice law in this state”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

license (countable and uncountable, plural licenses)

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

The legal terms under which a person is allowed to use a product, especially software.

Freedom to deviate deliberately from normally applicable rules or practices (especially in behaviour or speech).

Excessive freedom; lack of due restraint.

(idiomatic) shorthand for driver's license

Usage notes

• In British English, Canadian English, Australian English, Irish English, South African English and New Zealand English the noun is spelt licence and the verb is license.

• The spelling licence is not used for either part of speech in the United States.

Verb

license (third-person singular simple present licenses, present participle licensing, simple past and past participle licensed)

The act of giving a formal (usually written) authorization.

Authorize officially.

Anagrams

• selenic, silence

Source: Wiktionary


Li"cense, n. [Written also licence.] Etym: [F. licence, L. licentia, fr. licere to be permitted, prob. orig., to be left free to one; akin to linquere to leave. See Loan, and cf. Illicit, Leisure.]

1. Authority or liberty given to do or forbear any act; especially, a formal permission from the proper authorities to perform certain acts or to carry on a certain business, which without such permission would be illegal; a grant of permission; as, a license to preach, to practice medicine, to sell gunpowder or intoxicating liquors. To have a license and a leave at London to dwell. P. Plowman.

2. The document granting such permission. Addison.

3. Excess of liberty; freedom abused, or used in contempt of law or decorum; disregard of law or propriety. License they mean when they cry liberty. Milton.

4. That deviation from strict fact, form, or rule, in which an artist or writer indulges, assuming that it will be permitted for the sake of the advantage or effect gained; as, poetic license; grammatical license, etc.

Syn.

– Leave; liberty; permission.

Li"cense, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Licensed; p. pr. & vb. n. Licensing.]

Definition: To permit or authorize by license; to give license to; as, to license a man to preach. Milton. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 March 2025

STAND

(verb) hold one’s ground; maintain a position; be steadfast or upright; “I am standing my ground and won’t give in!”


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Coffee Trivia

Decaffeinated coffee is not caffeine-free. Studies from the National Institute of Health (US) have shown that virtually all decaf coffee types contain caffeine. A 236-ml (8-oz) cup of decaf coffee contains up to 7 mg of caffeine, whereas a regular cup provided 70-140 mg.

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