licence

[ lahy-suhns ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

licence

/ ˈlaɪsəns /

a certificate, tag, document, etc, giving official permission to do something
formal permission or exemption
liberty of action or thought; freedom
intentional disregard of or deviation from conventional rules to achieve a certain effect
poetic licence
excessive freedom
licentiousness

Origin of licence¹

C14: via Old French and Medieval Latin licentia permission, from Latin: freedom, from licet it is allowed

Hulagu then gave his men licence to rape, kill and plunder with the caveat that Christians and Jews were to be spared.

Thus Ney returned to France in disgrace with his comrades, and hated by his enemies owing to the licence he allowed his soldiers.

On July 19 a proclamation was issued forbidding the possession of firearms without licence.

In 1904 there was only one drinking-saloon, kept by a Bohemian-born American, who paid $6,000 a year for his monopoly licence.

Yet who could truthfully charge her with having obtained her divorce in order thereby to claim any fresh licence for herself?

It contains a vigorous attack on the licence of the press and of the "impudent, rascally Printer."

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