# license

Pronunciation: say "LY-suhns" /ˈlaɪ.səns/

## Noun

1. An official document that gives someone legal permission to do something; a permit.
   - Simple: An official paper that gives you permission to do something, like drive or sell food.
   - _You need a license to operate a commercial vehicle._
   - _The bar lost its license after repeated violations._
2. The legal terms that set out how someone is allowed to use a product, especially software.
   - Simple: The rules that say how you are allowed to use something, often software.
   - _The software license prohibits copying the program for others._
   - _Each license grants the user a single seat for one year._
4. Ellipsis of driver's license. — Ellipsis of driver's license.
   - Simple: Short for driver's license. The everyday word for the card that shows you are allowed to drive.
   - _Keep your license in your wallet when you drive._
   - _He left his license at home and had to turn the car around._
7. The freedom to deliberately depart from normal rules or practices, especially in behavior or speech.
   - Simple: Freedom to break the usual rules on purpose, often in art or speech.
   - _The director took considerable license in adapting the historical events._
   - _Storytellers enjoy a certain license to embellish their accounts._
9. Excessive freedom; a lack of proper restraint.
   - Simple: Too much freedom, with no proper control or limits.
   - _The regime's collapse gave way to widespread license and lawlessness._
   - _He mistook freedom for license and ignored every limit._

## Verb

3. To grant someone official authorization to do something.
   - Simple: To give official permission for something.
   - _The state agency licenses physicians after they complete their exams._
   - _Authorities license only those operators who meet strict standards._
5. To grant formal authorization for someone to use something, especially a piece of intellectual property.
   - Simple: To officially allow someone to use something you own, such as a song or design.
   - _The studio licensed the characters to a toy manufacturer._
   - _Developers license their software to large companies under strict terms._
6. To obtain formal authorization to use something, usually by paying for it.
   - Simple: To pay to get official permission to use something, like software or music.
   - _The startup licensed the patented design before launching its product._
   - _Broadcasters license footage from news agencies for a yearly fee._
8. To give someone permission or freedom to act; to allow or accept.
   - Simple: To allow someone to do something or behave a certain way.
   - _The policy licenses employees to make small decisions on their own._
   - _The new guidelines license teachers to adapt the curriculum freely._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To permit a structure or form as grammatically correct.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 4, 7, 9** — This comes from Middle English "licence," borrowed from Old French "licence," from Latin "licentia" ("license"), which derives from "licens," the present participle of "licere" ("to be allowed").
**Meanings 3, 5–6, 8** — This comes from Middle English "licencen," borrowed from Old French "licencer," from Medieval Latin "licentiO" (compare English "licentiate").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/license (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).