License, n. [Written also licence.]
Etymology: [F. licence, L. licentia, fr. licere to be permitted, prob. orig., to be left free to one; akin to linquere to leave. See Loan, and cf. Illicit, Leisure.]
1. Authority or liberty given to do or forbear any act; especially, a formal permission from the proper authorities to perform certain acts or to carry on a certain business, which without such permission would be illegal; a grant of permission; as, a license to preach, to practice medicine, to sell gunpowder or intoxicating liquors. To have a license and a leave at London to dwell. P. Plowman.
2. The document granting such permission. Addison.
3. Excess of liberty; freedom abused, or used in contempt of law or decorum; disregard of law or propriety. License they mean when they cry liberty. Milton.
4. That deviation from strict fact, form, or rule, in which an artist or writer indulges, assuming that it will be permitted for the sake of the advantage or effect gained; as, poetic license; grammatical license, etc.
1 more senses
Syn. -- Leave; liberty; permission.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
License, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Licensed; p. pr. & vb. n. Licensing.]
To permit or authorize by license; to give license to; as, to license a man to preach. Milton. Shak.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for license; he lists it under liberty, permission, right.
Where he writes about it:
License is, in its limited sense, a permission or privilege granted by adequate authority, a bounded liberty; in the wider sense, license is an ignoring and defiance of all that should restrain, and a reckless doing of all that individual caprice or passion may choose to do--a base and dangerous counterfeit of freedom. — from liberty
License is a formal permission granted by competent authority to an individual to do some act or pursue some business which would be or is made to be unlawful without such permission; as, a license to preach, to solemnize marriages, or to sell intoxicating liquors. — from permission
A license is permission granted rather than authority conferred; the sheriff has authority (not permission nor license) to make an arrest. — from permission