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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

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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