licence, n.
(ˈlaɪsəns)
Forms: 4–6 li-, lycens, 4–7 lycence, 5–6 lysence, -ens, (6 laysance, lysans, -aunce, Sc. lecens, 7 licience), 5–9 license, 4– licence.
[a. F. licence, ad. L. licentia, f. licēre to be lawful. Cf. Sp. licencia, Pg. licen{cced}a, It. licenza.
The spelling license, though still often met with, has no justification in the case of the n. In the case of the vb., on the other hand, although the spelling licence is etymologically unobjectionable, license is supported by the analogy of the rule universally adopted in the similar pairs of related words, practice n., practise vb., prophecy n., prophesy vb. (The rule seems to have arisen from imitation of the spelling of pairs like advice n., advise vb., which expresses a phonetic distinction of historical origin.) A slight argument for preferring the s form in the vb. may be found in the existence of the derivatives licensable and licensure (U.S.) which could not conveniently be spelt otherwise.
Johnson and Todd give only the form license both for the n. and the vb., but the spelling of their quots. conforms, with one exception, to the rule above referred to, which is recognized by Smart (1836), and seems to represent the now prevailing usage. Late 19th-c. Dicts., however, almost universally have license both for n. and vb., either without alternative or in the first place.]
1. a. Liberty (to do something), leave, permission. Now somewhat rare. † Also occas. exemption from (something). † Formerly often in phr. licence and leave; by, with, without (a person's) licence; to get, give, have, obtain, take (a) licence. (Cf. leave n.1 1.)
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 82 And askeþ leue and lycence at londun to dwelle. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 855 If I have licence of this worthy frere. 1422 Hoccleve Min. Poems (1892) 223 Now, sire, yit a word, by your licence. c 1450 Merlin 17 She ansuerde prayinge she myght speke with hir confessour; and they yaf hir lycence. 1493 Charter in A. Laing Lindores Abbey xvii. (1876) 179 Anentis the making of out men burges but licens of the said abbot. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 146 Whose names we purpose to shewe with lycens. 1526 Tindale John xix. 38 And Pilate gave him licence. 1532 Fortescue's Abs. & Lim. Mon. (1714) 119 Hou long any of them may be absent, hou he schal have his leve and licence..may be conceyvyd by leysure. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 10 The duke was banished..and yet without license of Kyng Richarde he is returned again into the realme. 1549 Compl. Scot. xvii. 146 He gat neuyr lecens to marye quhil on to the tyme that [etc.]. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia ii. (1895) 148 The people..haue geuen a perpetual licence from labour to learnyng. 1640 Order Ho. Commons in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 143 Mr. R. H. has License to go and speak with Sir G. R. 1675 Baxter Cath. Theol. ii. i. 122 Doth God forbid it? No; he commandeth it, which is more than leave or licence. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. x. (1840) 225 It would be difficult to go from hence without their license. 1761 Hume Hist. Eng. I. App. ii. 256 If he sold his estate without licence from his lord. 1765 Blackstone Comm. I. i. i. 133 The king..may..prohibit any of his subjects from going into foreign parts without licence. 1807 Crabbe Village ii. 61 Who take a licence round their fields to stray. 1838 Thirlwall Greece V. 81 The declaration..was now interpreted..as a license to restore their political unity. 1861 Mill Utilit. v. 66 Others would confine the license of disobedience to unjust laws. 1888 M. Morris Claverhouse vi. 110 The same license was granted to him for dealing with all future criminals of the same class. |
† b. spec. Leave or permission to depart; chiefly in phrase,
to take one's licence, to take one's leave; also
licence and congee.
Obs. (
Cf. congee n. 2 b and
leave n.1 2.)
| [c 1450 Lonelich Grail xvi. 67 The king hem ȝaf license Forto gon from his precense.] 1475 Bk. Noblesse 30 Good men of armes..discoragethe them as sone as paiment failethe, and takethe theire congie and licence of theire prince. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. v. (Percy Soc.) 24 Of her than I dyd take my lycence. 1556–8 T. Phaer æneid iv. K j b, Fayne wold he flee, and of that contrey sweete his licence take. |
2. a. A formal, usually a printed or written permission from a constituted authority to do something,
e.g. to marry, to print or publish a book, to preach, to carry on some trade, etc.; a permit. Also in phrases
† book of licence (see
book n. 1),
letter of licence and composition (see
quot. 1809),
licence of mortmain (see
mortmain);
(to marry) by licence in opposition to
by banns.
| 1433 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 467/1 To praye..the kynge to graunte licence of Exchaunge, under his grete Seal. 1463 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 187 We..charge you to suffyr hym..to enjoye our sayd lycence wyth outyn any let. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 81 This is she that in maner hath destroyed all religyons by the reason of dispensacyons or lycences. 1549 in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. iii. i. 136 [To] requyre yow..to drawe a booke of Lysaunce from his Maiestie, to the Maior and Auldremen [etc.]. 1552–3 Inv. Ch. Goods, Staffs. in Ann. Lichfield IV. 46, xl s. peyd to the bysshope for his laysance to byrrey. 1611 Bible Transl. Pref. 6 They must first get a Licence in writing before they may vse them [the Scriptures]. 1617 in Grosart's Spenser (1882) III. p. ci, John fflorio, esquier, and Rose Spicer marr{supd} by licence from Mr. Weston's Office. 1641 Declar. Both Houses in Rushw. Hist. Coll. iii. (1692) I. 515 Captain S. did by vertue and authority of Your Majesties License, embark at White-Haven. 1649 Thorpe Charge at York Assizes 20 For a Badgers or Drovers License two shillings. 1683 Robin Consc. 15 If I [a publican] my Licence should observe,..Both I and mine alas would starve. 1724 R. Wodrow Life J. Wodrow (1828) 53 The form of his licence [to preach] I insert from the original. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. x. 410 A licence for the shipping of his stores and provisions. 1763 Brit. Mag. IV. 495 Would you keep your pearls from tramplers, Weigh the licence, weigh the bans. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. 269 It..is..necessary, for corporations to have a licence of mortmain from the crown. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. vi. (1869) I. 52 He must pay for the licence to gather these fruits. 1797 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. VIII. 406 Licences to dealers in spirits and wine. 1809 R. Langford Introd. Trade 108 A Letter of License is an instrument or writing granted to a debtor by his creditors, giving him respite and time for payment of his debts... When..they not only grant respite and time for payment, but agree to allow an abatement on their respective accounts, then this instrument is called a Letter of License and Composition. 1833 H. Martineau Berkeley the Banker i. iv. 92 A fine of {pstlg}100 for every act of issue after the term of license has expired. 1840 Macaulay Ess., Ranke (1843) III. 240 A congregation is formed. A license is obtained. A plain brick building,..is run up, and named Ebenezer or Bethel. 1841 Lytton Nt. & Morn. i. i, Do you marry by license? No; my intended is not of age. 1851 Dixon W. Penn vii. (1872) 61 ‘The Sandy Foundation Shaken’ was printed without a license from the Bishop of London. 1851 R. Nesbit in Mem. xii. (1858) 305 After receiving ‘licence’, he preached in the Mission Lecture Room. |
b. The document embodying such a permission.
| 1598 Yong Diana 393 The Kings licence being now come. 1625 Massinger New Way iv. i, Pray ride to Nottingham, get a license. 1683 in Songs Lond. Prentices (Percy Soc.) 81, I bade her [an alewife] on her licence look. 1888 Daily News 28 Sept. 3/3 There was a custom among cab proprietors of ‘chair-marking’ their drivers' licences. 1899 Raymond Two Men o' Mendip xv. 249 He'd have no choice but to marry us, when I did come, licence in han'. |
c. In some Universities, a certificate of competency in some faculty.
| 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., Licence is also applied to the letters, or certificates, taken out in universities, whether in law, physic, or divinity. 1900–1901 Durh. Univ. Cal. 141 Final Examination for the Licence in Theology. Ibid. 487 Licence in Sanitary Science. |
3. a. Liberty of action conceded or acknowledged; an instance of this.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 457 Thy lycence es lemete in presence of lordys. a 1605 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxxvi. 48 That nou sik licience haif we none. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. ii. 112 Taunt my faults With such full License, as both Truth and Malice Haue power to vtter. 1656 Stanley Hist. Philos. v. (1701) 157/1 The true Licence of Disputations. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) I. vi. 39 Do you so understand the license you have, Miss? 1818 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. iv. ix. 299 English law..has neither definition nor words to..circumscribe the license of the Judge. 1834 M. Edgeworth Helen xxxvii. (1883) 312 The first little fib in which Lady Cecilia, as a customary licence of speech, indulged herself the moment she awoke this morning. 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke xi. (1876) 127, I thanked him again for what license he had given me. 1868 E. Edwards Ralegh I. xiii. 249 He..allowed great and public licence to his tongue. 1875 Browning Aristoph. Apol. 5225 The rooted plant aspired to range With the snake's license. 1884 Manch. Exam. 20 Feb. 4/7 Ordinary license of speech has seldom been more shamefully exceeded. |
b. Excessive liberty; abuse of freedom; disregard of law or propriety; an instance of this.
| c 1450 tr. De Imitatione i. xvi. 18 Oþer mennes large licence displesiþ us, but we to ourself wol have no þinge denyed þat we aske. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. ii. 48 Taunt him with the license of Inke. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 35, I should be condemn'd of introducing licence, while I oppose Licencing. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables xv. (1708) 20 Under the Allegory of the Ass is Insinuated the License of a Buffoon. 1719 Young Busiris ii. i, Your heart resents some licence of my youth. a 1720 Sheffield (Dk. Buckhm.) Wks. (1753) I. 272 They are for licence, not for liberty. 1777 Sheridan Sch. Scand. i. i, The licence of invention some people take is monstrous indeed. 1797 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. VIII. 366 The intolerable licence with which the newspapers break..the rules of decorum. 1813 Scott Rokeby i. xvii, Thy license shook his sober dome. 1840 Thirlwall Greece VIII. 315 The license which he gave to his troops to enrich themselves with the spoil of the country. 1850 Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. i. (1864) 3 The first license given to the tongue is slander. 1867 Emerson Lett. & Soc. Aims, Prog. Cult. Wks. (Bohn) III. 226 The freedom of action goes to the brink..of license. 1881 Westcott & Hort Grk. N.T. Introd. §13 The mixture has been accompanied or preceded by such licence in transcription. |
c. Licentiousness, libertinism.
| 1713 Steele Guardian No. 18 ¶3 The cause of much license and riot. 1823 Scott Peveril xvii. His unlimited license..has disgusted the minds of all sober and thinking men. 1841 Trevelyan Life Macaulay (1876) I. ii. 84 The reaction from Puritanic rigour into the license of the Restoration. 1847 James J. Marston Hall ix, The license of every kind that then existed in the city no tongue can tell nor pen can describe. 1901 Expositor May 367 These implements of license were originally made by God. |
4. Deviation from recognized form or rule, indulged in by a writer or artist for the sake of effect; an instance of this. Frequent in phrase
poetic (poetical, etc.) licence.
| 1530 Palsgr. 44 Which auctors do rather by a lycence poetycall. 1657 J. Smith Myst. Rhet. 49 By the licence of this figure we give names to many things which lack names, &c. 1697 Dryden æneid Ded. (f), I generally join these two Licenses together. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Licence, in painting, are the liberties which the painter takes in dispensing with the rules of perspective, and the other laws of his art. a 1771 Gray Corr. (1843) 260 As to any license in the feet, it is only permitted in the beginning of a long verse. 1819 Byron Juan i. cxx, This liberty is a poetic licence. 1859 Kingsley Misc. (1860) I. 227 The poem..allows a metrical licence. 1877 L. Tollemache in Fortn. Rev. Dec. 846 By a prophetic license, perpetual means transitory. 1899 F. T. Bullen Log Sea-waif 179 Coleridge's simile of ‘A painted ship upon a painted ocean’ is only a poet's licence. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
licence-duty,
licence-fee,
licence-holder,
licence-money,
licence number,
licence plate,
licence-tax.
| 1859 K. Cornwallis New World I. 137 The infliction of the *license fee..tended very much to exasperate the miners. |
| 1897 Westm. Gaz. 7 Sept. 3/3 The old *licence-holders are going to the wall, and the brewers are stepping in. |
| 1692 Ann. Albany (1850) 121 Ordered that the sheriffe have a warrant to levy the *lycence money. 1900 Daily News 4 June 3/4 The Boers collected licence money from all the shops. |
| 1937 D. & H. Teilhet Feather Cloak Murder ii. 48 ‘Did you get the *licence number?’..the grey car had vanished. 1972 L. Lamb Picture Frame xx. 178 We found his van... It was Mallender's licence number. |
| 1926 Amer. Speech I. 686/1 American: Number plates. English: *License plates. 1962 ‘E. McBain’ Like Love (1964) xiv. 189 You didn't happen to notice the licence plate number, did you? 1974 R. C. Dennis Conversations with Corpse xiv. 140, I..landed..a 1968 license plate. |
| 1885 Pop. Sci. Monthly XXVIII. 464 (Cent.) The *license-tax, as it is called there [in Wisconsin] applies to railroads, insurance, telegraph, and telephone companies. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. ii. xliii. 135 Licence taxes..are directly levied by..State officials. |