noun 1.a person who has received a license, as from a university, to practice an
art or profession.
2.the holder of a university degree intermediate between that of bachelor and that of doctor, now confined chiefly to certain continental European universities.
Origin: 1350–1400; <
Medieval Latin licentiātus, noun use of past participle of
licentiāre to authorize. See
license,
-ate1 Related forms li·cen·ti·ate·ship, noun
li·cen·ti·a·tion, noun
non·li·cen·ti·ate, noun
post·li·cen·ti·ate, adjective