Etymology: < permit v. N.E.D. (1905) notes at sense 1 ‘in uses like those in quots. a1816, 1885 sometimes stressed permi·t’. Bailey, Johnson, and Webster (1828) give the stress (for the noun) as perˈmit; the Imperial Dict. (1850) gives this as an alternative, as does Webster from 1854 onwards; Walker gives only the current stress, as do most British authorities from the 19th cent. onwards.

Etymology: Irregularly < Spanish palometa any of several species of fish (1526), probably < an unattested Doric variant (with παλ- ) of ancient Greek πηλαμύδ- , πηλαμύς young tunny, bonito (see pelamid n.), perhaps via Italian palamita (14th cent.) or Catalan palomida (1300), or perhaps via Mozarabic.An alternative etymology derives the Spanish term < paloma dove (see palomino n.) + -eta ( < Catalan -eta -et suffix¹). However, in Spanish the term is only attested as the name of a fish, while Catalan palometa has a range of senses, including ‘butterfly’, but is not used to designate a fish except in a small area, where it is probably borrowed from Spanish.

Etymology: < classical Latin permittere to let go, give up, surrender, commit, entrust, allow, permit < per- per- prefix + mittere to send (see mission n.). Compare Middle French, French permettre (1357; c1000 in Old French as permetre in an apparently isolated attestation), Old Occitan permetre (14th cent.; Occitan permetre), Catalan permetre (13th cent.), Spanish permitir (late 14th cent., perhaps also as permetir), Italian permettere (1260–1).