Permit

How to spell permit

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce permit

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does permit mean?

1. verbTo allow something to happen or to give someone formal consent to do something.
2. nounAn official document granting permission to do something, such as build, park, or travel.

Permit in a sentence

• verb

  The new rules permit remote work two days a week.

• noun

  You need a parking permit to leave your car in this zone.

• verb

  Weather conditions did not permit the flight to depart.

• noun

  The builders applied for a permit before starting the extension.

Where does permit come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin permittere, which combined per, meaning 'through' or 'completely', with mittere, meaning 'to send' or 'to let go'. The literal sense was therefore to let something pass through or to send it on freely, which softened into the idea of allowing or surrendering control over something. English took the word up in the fifteenth century, first as a verb meaning to allow or tolerate. The noun sense, an official document that grants permission, is a later development that grew naturally from the verb. The same mittere root sits inside a whole family of familiar words, including 'transmit', 'submit', 'mission' and 'commit', which is a useful reminder that the single t belongs to the root before any ending is added.

How the word is built

• per- (through, completely)
• mit (from Latin mittere: to send, let go)