LI'CENSE, noun [Latin licentia, from liceo, to be permitted.] 1. Leave; permission; authority or liberty given to do or forbear any act. A license may be verbal or written; when written, the paper containing the authority is called a license A man is not permitted to retail spirituous liquors till he has obtained a license 2. Excess of liberty; exorbitant freedom; freedom abused, or used in contempt of law or decorum. License they mean, when they cry liberty. LI'CENSE, verb transitive 1. To permit by grant of authority; to remove legal restraint by a grant of permission; as, to license a man to keep an inn. 2. To authorize to act in a particular character; as, to license a physician or a lawyer. 3. To dismiss. [Not in use.]
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI