license

Etymology

From Middle English licence, licens, lisence, lissens, licance (noun) and licencen, licensen, lisensen, licent (verb), from Old French licence, from Latin licentia (“license”), from licens, present participle of licere (“to be allowed, be allowable”); compare linquere, Ancient Greek λείπω (leípō, “leave”).

noun

1. A legal document giving official permission to do something; a permit.
   Hello. I would like to buy a fish licence please. 1970, 0:1:15 from the start, in Monty Python's Flying Circus, season 2, episode 10, John Cleese (actor)
2. The legal terms under which a person is allowed to use a product, especially software.
   Thus, while the license will grant the user the right to use the software, a major concern is the scope of that use. For example, will the user be granted the right to copy, modify, or transfer the software? 1986, Thomas Smedinghoff, The Legal Guide to Developing, Protecting, and Marketing Software, page 166
3. Freedom to deviate deliberately from normally applicable rules or practices (especially in behaviour or speech).
   In some instances, the author took license to include events which never happened, or to purposely create events which may run in the face of popular conjecture if the author felt it would help the story along. 2012, Chris Seepe, The Conspiracy to Assassinate Jesus Christ, page 5
4. Excessive freedom; lack of due restraint.
   When liberty becomes license dictatorship is near. 1936, Will Durant, Ariel Durant, The Story of Civilization, page 520
5. Short for driver's license.
   In order to enter the building, I need to show my license.

verb

1. To authorize officially.
   I am licensed to practice law in this state.
2. (transitive) (applied to a piece of intellectual property)
   1. To give formal authorization to use.
      It was decided to license Wikipedia under the GFDL.
      The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies. 2013-06-22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68
   2. To acquire authorization to use, usually in exchange for compensation.
      The filmmakers licensed several iconic 80's songs for the soundtrack.
      As part of the strategic relationship, Microsoft has licensed the image segmentation, compression and viewing technology from ScanSoft. 2000, International Journal of Micrographics & Optical Technology
      They changed their campaign, licensed the song and used it for over six years in all of their advertising. 2007, Steve Swayne, How Sondheim Found His Sound
3. (transitive) To give permission or freedom to; accept.
4. (linguistics, transitive) To permit (as grammatically correct).
   No English adverbs have mandatory complements, and most don't even license optional ones.
   Kayne argues that the crucial fact which licenses preposition stranding in English but not in French is the fact that in English verbs and prepositions assign Case similarly, and hence they govern similarly. 2014, Hagit Borer, Parametric Syntax: Case Studies in Semitic and Romance Languages