Permissible

How to spell permissible

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce permissible

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does permissible mean?

1. adjectiveAllowed by the rules, the law, or accepted standards.

Permissible in a sentence

• The contract sets out the maximum permissible noise level for the building site.

• Casual dress is permissible on Fridays but not during client meetings.

Where does permissible come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb permittere, which combined per, meaning 'through' or 'thoroughly', with mittere, meaning 'to send' or 'to let go'. Literally it suggested letting something go all the way through, and from that came the sense of giving leave or allowing. From the past participle stem of that verb Latin formed permissibilis, 'that may be allowed', which passed into English through French and Late Latin influence in the 1400s. The same mittere root, with its missus form, runs through a whole family of familiar English words including mission, dismiss, transmit, and of course permit itself. The spelling trap lives in that double s of the miss element and in the ending: it is -ible, not -able, because the word descends directly from the Latin -ibilis form rather than being built freshly on an English verb.

How the word is built

• per- (through, thoroughly)
• miss (from Latin mittere, missus: to send, let go)
• -ible (able to be)