: a permission granted by competent authority to engage in a business or occupation or in an activity otherwise unlawful
a hunting license
b
: a document, plate, or tag evidencing a license granted
c
: a grant by the holder of a copyright or patent to another of any of the rights embodied in the copyright or patent short of an assignment of all rights
3
a
: freedom that allows or is used with irresponsibility
Freedom of the press should not be turned into license.
b
: disregard for standards of personal conduct : licentiousness
4
: deviation from fact, form, or rule by an artist or writer for the sake of the effect gained
License and licentious come ultimately from the same word in Latin, licentia, whose meanings ranged from "freedom to act" to "unruly behavior, wantonness." The Latin noun was itself derived from the verb licere "to be permitted." Though we are likely to associate license with the card that grants freedom or permission to operate a motor vehicle and licentious with sexual wantonness, in actuality, there is considerable semantic overlap between the two words. Poetic license refers to deviation from a (usually) literary norm for some purposeful effect. A person who takes license with something (or someone) engages in "abusive disregard for rules of personal conduct." Hence, the semantic range of license in English mirrors that of its Latin antecedent, suggesting either permission or transgression, depending upon the context. Licentious, on the other hand, always implies excessive, transgressive freedom, as is true of its immediate Latin source, licentiosus "unrestrained, wanton" (literally, "full of freedom").
freedom has a broad range of application from total absence of restraint to merely a sense of not being unduly hampered or frustrated.
freedom of the press
liberty suggests release from former restraint or compulsion.
the released prisoner had difficulty adjusting to his new liberty
license implies freedom specially granted or conceded and may connote an abuse of freedom.
freedom without responsibility may degenerate into license
Example Sentences
Noun The restaurant's owner applied for a license to sell liquor. His job as a reporter gives him license to go anywhere and ask anything. Verb The restaurant has now been licensed to sell liquor. a new drug licensed by the government The company licensed its name to others.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The federal government would ban the companies from selling chipmaking equipment in China without a license from the Commerce Department. Prarthana Prakash, Fortune, 13 Sep. 2022 Marisol Garcia, 43, of the 2800 block of South 12th Avenue, Bridgeview, on Sept. 3 was charged with driving without a license, operating an uninsured vehicle and speeding in the 7200 block of West Forest Preserve Drive, police said.Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2022 That driver’s license, made possible by DACA, gave me the freedom to range — to head across town for dinner or take a spur-of-the-moment road trip.Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2022 Matt built a landscaping and tree removal company but was also getting in trouble — often DUIs or driving without a license or violating probation, his family said. Andrew Selsky And Leah Willingham, ajc, 1 Sep. 2022 He was arrested once more in January 2022 for operating a vehicle without a license and driving in the wrong lane. Mike Mavredakis, Hartford Courant, 1 Sep. 2022 Matt built a landscaping and tree removal company but was also getting in trouble — often DUIs or driving without a license. Andrew Selsky, Leah Willingham, Anchorage Daily News, 1 Sep. 2022 Hackworth pleaded not guilty to four federal charges – one count of dealing in firearms without a license and three counts of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm – filed against him. Chris Hacker, Stephen Stock, CBS News, 30 Aug. 2022 His driver’s license will be suspended for four to six months in Kentucky. Brett Dawson, The Courier-Journal, 29 Aug. 2022
Verb
And now it is set to be taken off the airways for good as the BBC has pledged never to show it again or license it to other broadcasters. Victoria Murphy, Town & Country, 21 July 2022 Davie said the broadcaster would never show the Diana interview again or license it to other broadcasters. Sylvia Hui, USA TODAY, 21 July 2022 Some insurers will only reimburse wilderness providers that are licensed as residential treatment facilities, but not all states license them that way, DeBofsky said. Tara Bannow, STAT, 18 July 2022 Maurer, however, isn’t interested in large-scale manufacturing, and would rather perfect the technology and license it out. Lucas Daprile, cleveland, 12 July 2022 But their former production company had some claim to the rights for Black Mirror, and yet another deal had to be created to license them to Netflix. Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 27 Apr. 2022 The exec also revealed his strategy with Avatar and iCarly was to license them to third-party outlets (like Netflix) to expose them to wider audiences before taking them back as exclusives. Rachel Yang, EW.com, 15 July 2021 The decision to pursue audiobooks is interesting, especially given the fact that the company is starting out with public domain works, meaning Spotify doesn’t have to pay to license them. Ashley Carman, The Verge, 25 Jan. 2021 The contract granted Triller royalty-free, worldwide, transferrable rights to license and use of an influencer’s name, image, likeness, voice, and audiovisual on all Triller channels. Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, from Anglo-French licence, from Latin licentia, from licent-, licens, present participle of licēre to be permitted