▪ I. permit, v.
(pəˈmɪt)
[ad. L. permittĕre to let go, give up, surrender, allow, suffer, permit, f. per- 1, 3 + mittĕre to let go, let loose, send: perh. after F. permettre, 13th c. parmetre (Godef.), 14th c. permetre (Littré); It. permettere, in same sense.]
I. To allow, suffer, give leave; not to prevent.
1. trans. With the action or fact as object: To admit or allow the doing or occurrence of; to give leave or opportunity for. With simple obj., obj. cl., or inf.; sometimes also with indirect obj. (dat.) of agent (with or without to).
| 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. iii. xii. 192 To a man in deffense is permytted to hurt another. 1538 Starkey England i. iv. 113 The law doth command no such intaylyng, but permyttyth hyt only. 1539 Bible (Great) 1 Cor. xiv. 34 It is not permitted vnto them to speake. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. i. 117 He permitis, that in general parleaments twa or thrie of thame be present. 1697 Potter Antiq. Greece i. iv. (1715) 14 It being permitted any Man..to make an Appeal to the People. a 1700 Dryden (J.), Age..permits not that our mortal members..should retain the vigour of our youth. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair liv, Sir Pitt..would by no means permit the introduction of Sunday papers into his household. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. I. iii. 183 Appeals were permitted only from one ecclesiastical court to another. 1866 Howells Venet. Life iii. 34, I permit myself, throughout this work, the use of [etc.]. |
2. a. With the agent, etc. as direct object: To allow, give leave to (a person or thing) to do (or undergo) something. With inf. act. or pass. (rarely without to); sometimes ellipt. with simple obj.
| 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) 22 No law permytteth, nor wylleth man..To commyt mordre. 1526 Tindale Acts xxvi. 1 Thow arte permitted to speake for thy silfe. 1594 Willobie Avisa L j b, When tyme permits you not to talke. 1614 Jackson Creed iii. xxv. §4 To permit malefactors trauerse the equitie of publique lawes. 1640 Habington Queen of Arragon ii, Will you permit The Generall kneele so long? 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. vi. 205 They had been permitted to wait on him. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xii, Nothing could prevail upon her to permit me from home. 1771 Junius Lett. l. (1772) II. 195 Permit me to recommend him to your Grace's protection. 1881 Henty Cornet of Horse x. (1888) 97 Words..which Sir William had in his anger permitted himself to use. |
b. refl. with in: To allow oneself to indulge in or commit; not to refrain from. (Cf. allow 9.)
| 1678 H. More Lett. (1694) 29 Whoever permits himself in any sin..is his own Prison and Jailour. 1849 Froude Nemesis of Faith 79 Having..never permitted themselves in extravagance. 1870 Ruskin Lect. Art (1875) 96 They will permit themselves in awkwardness, they will permit themselves in ugliness. |
3. a. absol. or intr. To give leave or opportunity; to allow; (usually in subord. cl. with as or if); spec. in phr. weather permitting, if the weather permits or allows, and in similar phrases.
| 1553 Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 32 As..they presupposed the roundenesse of the earth would permitte. 1612 Brinsley Lud. Lit. ix. (1627) 147 To examine over all the noted words, as time permits. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) IV. 412 As far as the law would in that case allow or permit. 1840 C. Brown in H. E. Rollins Lett. J. Keats (1958) I. i. 422 ‘Weather permitting’, unless of the bad and excessive kind, was not of much force in our agreement. 1895 J. W. Budd in Law Times XCIX. 544/2 A matter on which, had time permitted, I should have been glad to have said something. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 611 It was not so dear, purse permitting, a few guineas at the outside, considering the fare to Mullingar where he figured on going was five and six there and back. 1957 R. W. Zandvoort Handbk. Eng. Gram. i. ii. 36 Compare also the phrase weather permitting, where the meaning implied is one of condition. [Note] Also funds permitting, and similar combinations. 1978 T. Allbeury Lantern Network iii. 32 Arms..will be dropped to your instructions, weather permitting. |
b. intr. with of: To allow of, admit of.
| 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xii. 87 The crack was not wide enough to permit of the entrance of my finger nail. 1875 E. White Life in Christ iv. xxvi. (1878) 426 It consisted with the Divine wisdom to permit..of the corruption of patriarchal theology into pantheism and world-wide idolatry. |
II. † 4. trans. To put, or allow to pass, out of one's own keeping or power into that of another (or of some force, influence, etc.); to commit, submit, hand over; to give up, resign, leave; to refer (to the will of). Const. to (unto). Obs.
| 1545 Joye Exp. Dan. Ded. A iv b, Whiche my labours I permytte to the judgement of the godly & learned. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World v. v. §7. 691 That..they should wholly permit themselves to the good pleasure of the Senate. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 554 What thou livst Live well, how long or short permit to Heav'n. 1725 Pope Odyss. ix. 403 He..then permits their udder to the lambs. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. xxvi. (1819) 457 There are advantages in permitting events to chance. |
† 5. To leave undone, unused, etc.; to let pass, let slip, pass by, pass over, pretermit, omit. Obs.
| 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. (1813) II. 177 Shee, good gentle⁓woman, woulde permyt no duetye..unperformed. 1588 Greene Pandosto (1607) 38 If they permitted this good weather, they might staye long yer they had such a faire winde. 1692 Narr. Earl Nottingham, Not to leave it possible to be objected to him that he had permitted any⁓thing that might prevent the escape of the French ships. |
▪ II. permit, n.
(ˈpɜːmɪt, formerly pəˈmɪt)
[f. permit v. (with later shifting of stress: Bailey, Johnson, Webster 1828 have perˈmit).]
1. A written order giving permission to do something, a warrant, a licence; esp. one permitting the landing or removal of dutiable or excisable goods.
| 1714 Fr. Bk. of Rates 122 The Goods shall be again visited..and the Sufferance or Permit shall be examined by the Clarks of the Office. 1745 P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 299 Here we lay..not having a Permit from the Chautuck, which Permit they call a Chop. 1860 Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 157 Vessels are not allowed to leave..the..Dock until they have presented their permits to the..Dock Master. 1864 Knight Passages Work. Life I. 72 The liquor-merchant did not dare to send out a dozen of wine or a gallon of spirits without a permit. 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 10 Oct. 13/1 The Serf was required to carry a written permit or passport. |
| attrib. and Comb. 1737 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. ii. 86 Eighteen Permit Writers in Excise, Coffee, Tea, etc. 1774 in 14th Rep. R. Comm. Hist. Manuscripts App. x. 393 in Parl. Papers 1895 (C. 7883) LIX. 1 Have coaxed the people to part with their money and give paper in return to keep up armies of placemen, permit men, custom house officers, pensioners and soldiers. 1901 Daily Chron. 4 Dec. 5/3 Permits issued by the South African Permit Office..will be necessary for all persons landing in South Africa. 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 11 Mar. 4/1 It will be a method of checking bootlegging, and preventing those who are not permit-holders from coming into possession of liquor. 1926 T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars v. lvii. 300 A mixed body of Egyptian and British military police came round the train... It was proper to make war on permit-men, so I replied crisply. 1933 Brit. Birds XXVII. 138 Last year and again this year, this colony was wiped out,..and so permit-holders visited the colonies on the gravel bed instead. 1945 Seafarers' Log 13 Apr. 7/1 To members in full standing, who bring in their friends for permit cards, study the last weeks LOG on the Agents Conference pertaining to permit men. 1977 Evening Gaz. (Middlesbrough) 11 Jan. 14/5 But it will not affect last year's winner, Tsuru, one of two representatives for Somerset permit-holder and wholesale butcher Tony Cobden who has also declared Rio. |
2. Permission, leave (esp. formally given). (In first quot. fig. from 1. In uses like those in quots. a 1816, 1885, sometimes stressed perˈmit.)
| c 1730 Fielding Rape upon Rape iv. vii, He that would sin with impunity must have thy permit. 1733 Pol. Ballads (1860) II. 238 For sure 'tis unjust as well as unfit We should sell our own goods without their permit. a 1816 Bentham Offic. Apt. Maximized, Introd. View (1830) 14 If the fraternity of lawyers..could not find adequate inducement for giving it their permit. 1885 in Law Times LXXVIII. 393/2 The rank of Q. C. is..merely a permit to a barrister to do a certain kind of barristerial work. |