# visa

Pronunciation: US say "VEE-zuh" /ˈvizə/; UK

## Noun

1. An official permit to enter and leave a country, usually issued by the authorities of the country being visited.
   - Simple: An official document that lets you enter or leave a country.
   - _The embassy issued her a six-month student visa within two weeks._
   - _Travelers without valid visas were turned away at the border._

## Verb

2. To endorse a passport or similar document, marking it as officially approved for travel. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To stamp or mark a passport so someone is officially allowed to travel.
   - _Consular officials visa travel documents only after verifying each applicant's identity._
   - _The ambassador personally visaed the diplomat's passport before the long journey._

## Origin

Recorded from 1831 meaning an official signature or endorsement on a passport, it comes from French visa, which derives from Latin charta vīsa ("paper that has been seen"), from the feminine perfect passive of Latin vidēre ("to see").

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