different between permit vs authority

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English permitten, borrowed from Middle French permettre, from Latin permitt? (“give up, allow”), from per (“through”) + mitt? (“send”).

Pronunciation

• (most verb senses):

  (General American) IPA^(key): /p??m?t/

  (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /p??m?t/

  Rhymes: -?t

• (noun, denominal verb senses):

  (General American) IPA^(key): /?p?m?t/

  (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p??m?t/

  Rhymes: -??(?)m?t

Verb

permit (third-person singular simple present permits, present participle permitting, simple past and past participle permitted)

1. (transitive) To allow (something) to happen, to give permission for. [from 15th c.]
   • 1930, "Presbytarians", Time, 19 Dec 1930:

     Last week the decision on two points was conclusive: the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A. will not permit ordination of women as ministers, but will permit their election as ruling elders, permission which makes possible a woman as moderator.

2. (transitive) To allow (someone) to do something; to give permission to. [from 15th c.]
   • 2009, Patricia Cohen, New York Times, 17 Jan 09, p. 1:

     He was ultimately cleared, but during that period, Mr. Ackman said, his lawyers would not permit him to defend himself publicly.

3. (intransitive) To allow for, to make something possible. [from 16th c.]
   • 2006, Mary Riddell, "Trident is a Weapon of Mass Destruction", The Observer, 3 Dec 06:

     What was left to say? Quite a lot, if only parliamentary time permitted.

   • 2009, John Mitchell, "Clubs Preview", The Guardian, 25 Jul 09:

     For snackage there's a 1950s-themed diner plus a barbie on the terrace, weather permitting.

4. (intransitive) To allow, to admit (of). [from 18th c.]
   • per
   • 2007, Ian Jack, The Guardian, 22 Sep 07:

     "As an instrument of economic policy, incantation does not permit of minor doubts or scruples."

5. (transitive, pronounced like noun) To grant formal authorization for (something).

6. (transitive, pronounced like noun) To attempt to obtain or succeed in obtaining formal authorization for (something).

7. (now archaic, rare) To hand over, resign (something to someone). [from 15th c.]

   • Let us not aggravate our sorrows, / But to the gods permit the event of things.

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that in the active form takes the gerund (-ing), but in passive takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs

Translations

Noun

permit (plural permits)

1. An artifact or document rendering something allowed or legal. [from 17th c.]

   A construction permit can be obtained from the town offices.

   Go over to the park office and get a permit for the #3 shelter.

   1. A learner's permit.
2. (obsolete) Formal permission. [16th-19th c.]

Translations

Related terms

• permission
• mission

Etymology 2

An irregular borrowing from Spanish palometa, probably from a Doric variant of Ancient Greek ??????? (p?lamús, “young tuna”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?p?m?t/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?p??m?t/
• Rhymes: -??(?)m?t

Noun

permit (plural permit)

1. A pompano of the species Trachinotus falcatus.

See also

• Permit (fish) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Trachinotus on Wikispecies.Wikispecies

Anagrams

• premit

French

Verb

permit

1. third-person singular past historic of permettre

English

Alternative forms

• authourity, authoritie, autority, auctoritie (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English auctorite, autorite (“authority, book or quotation that settles an argument”), from Old French auctorité, from Latin stem of auct?rit?s (“invention, advice, opinion, influence, command”), from auctor (“master, leader, author”). For the presence of the h, compare the etymology of author.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /???????ti/, /???????ti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??????ti/, /??????ti/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /???t???ti/
• Hyphenation: au?thor?i?ty
• Rhymes: -???ti

Noun

authority (countable and uncountable, plural authorities)

1. (uncountable) The power to enforce rules or give orders.
   • 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Chapter V

     But in the meantime Robin Hood and his band lived quietly in Sherwood Forest, without showing their faces abroad, for Robin knew that it would not be wise for him to be seen in the neighborhood of Nottingham, those in authority being very wroth with him.

2. (used in singular or plural form) Persons in command; specifically, government.
3. (countable) A person accepted as a source of reliable information on a subject.
   • 1930 September 18, Albert Einstein, as quoted in Albert Einstein: Creator and Rebel (1988) by Banesh Hoffman

     To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.

4. Government-owned agency which runs a revenue-generating activity.

   New York Port Authority

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• have something on good authority

References

• authority at OneLook Dictionary Search
• authority in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• authority in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.