Where does “licence” come from?
licence (Old French) comes from Latin licentia, from Latin -ia, from Latin -ius, from Proto-Italic -jōs, from Proto-Indo-European -yós — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.
licence (Old French): leave; permission to be away, to be not present
Definitions
- leave; permission to be away, to be not present
Ancestry of “licence”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | licentia | a license, freedom, liberty; a liberty which one... |
| 2 | Latin | -ia | Used to form a feminine abstract noun, usually... |
| 3 | Latin | -ius | forming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter... |
| 4 | Proto-Italic | -jōs | Forms comparative adjectives |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -yós | Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems |