permit

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To allow someone to do something.

   Usage: Use permit someone to do something or permit an activity. In this sense it expresses permission and can appear in formal rules or notices.

   The museum rules permit visitors to take photographs in this gallery.

   My parents permitted me to stay out late on weekends.

2. 2
   verb

   To make something possible.

   We will go for a walk if the weather permits.

3. 3
   verb

   To give official or formal approval for something.

   The city permitted the new building project last week.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Permit entered English in the late Middle Ages from Latin permittere, formed from per-, “through,” and mittere, “to send” or “let go.” It originally meant “commit” or “hand over”; the noun meaning a written authorization is recorded from the early 16th century.

Through French permettre, from Latin permittō, to allow, combining per- with mittō, whose infinitive is mittere. This account concerns the permission word.

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary