Dictionary.com

permit

1
[ verb per-mit; noun pur-mit, per-mit ]
/ verb pərˈmɪt; noun ˈpɜr mɪt, pərˈmɪt /
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See synonyms for: permit / permitted / permitting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), per·mit·ted, per·mit·ting.
verb (used without object), per·mit·ted, per·mit·ting.
noun
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Origin of permit

1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Latin permittere “to let go through, give leave,” equivalent to per- per- + mittere “to let or make (someone) go”; see admit, commit, etc.

OTHER WORDS FROM permit

per·mit·tee [pur-mi-tee], /ˌpɜr mɪˈti/, nounper·mit·ter, nounun·per·mit·ting, adjective

Other definitions for permit (2 of 2)

permit2
[ pur-mit ]
/ ˈpɜr mɪt /

noun
a pompano, Trachinotus falcatus, of the waters off the West Indies.

Origin of permit

2
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; apparently by folk etymology from Spanish palometa palometa
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

WHEN TO USE

What are other ways to say permit?

To permit is to allow someone to do something. How is permit different from allow and let? Learn more on Thesaurus.com

How to use permit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for permit

permit

verb (pəˈmɪt) -mits, -mitting or -mitted
(tr) to grant permission to do somethingyou are permitted to smoke
(tr) to consent to or tolerateshe will not permit him to come
(when intr, often foll by of; when tr, often foll by an infinitive) to allow the possibility (of)the passage permits of two interpretations; his work permits him to relax nowadays
noun (ˈpɜːmɪt)
an official certificate or document granting authorization; licence
permission, esp written permission

Derived forms of permit

permitter, noun

Word Origin for permit

C15: from Latin permittere, from per- through + mittere to send
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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