LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

licentia

licentia f (genitive licentiae)
Classical[lɪˈkɛn.ti.a]Ecclesiastical[liˈt͡ʃɛn.t͡si.a]

Meaning

  1. femininelicense; freedom; liberty
  2. femininea liberty which one assumes; boldness; presumption
  3. feminineunrestrained liberty; dissoluteness; licentiousness; wantonness

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativelicentialicentiae
genitivelicentiaelicentiārum
dativelicentiaelicentiīs
accusativelicentiamlicentiās
ablativelicentiālicentiīs
vocativelicentialicentiae

lĭcentĭa, ae, f. licet,
I. freedom, liberty, leave to do as one pleases, license.
I. In gen.: Dae. Licet ... licet ... licet. Tr. Hercules istum infelicet cum sua licentia, Plaut. Rud. 4, 6, 21: nobis nostra Academia magnam licentiam dat, ut, etc., Cic. Off. 3, 4, 20: pueris non omnem ludendi licentiam damus, id. ib. 1, 29, 103: tantum licentiae dabat gloria, id. de Sen. 13, 44: absolvendi, Tac. A. 14, 49: lasciviendi permittere militibus, Suet. Caes. 67.—
II. In partic.
A. Liberty which one assumes, boldness, presumption, license: homo ad scribendi licentiam liber, Cic. N. D. 1, 44, 123: a Democrito omnino haec licentia, id. ib. 1, 38, 107: per intercalandi licentiam, by arbitrary intercalation, Suet. Caes. 40.—Freq. of style: poëtarum, Cic. de Or. 3, 38, 153: juvenilis quaedam dicendi impunitas et licentia, id. Brut. 91, 316: figurarum, Quint. 10, 1, 28.—
2. In rhet. as a figure of speech, = παρρησία, boldness, freedom of speech, Auct. Her. 4, 36, 48: poëtica, Quint. 2, 4, 3; 4, 1, 58: declamatoria, id. 8, 3, 76.—
B. Unrestrained liberty, unbounded license, dissoluteness, licentiousness: deteriores omnes sumus licentia, Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 74: nimia illaec licentia evadet in aliquod magnum malum, id. Ad. 3, 4, 63: omnium rerum infinita atque intoleranda licentia, Cic. Agr. 1, 5, 5: licentia libidoque, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 33, § 77: cupiditatum, id. Att. 10, 4, 1; id. Off. 2, 8, 28: habere impunitatem et licentiam sempiternam, id. Mil. 31, 84: quorum licentiae nisi Carneades restitisset, id. Div. 2, 72, 150: malle licentiam suam quam aliorum libertatem, Liv. 3, 37: Sullani temporis, lawlessness, Suet. Gram. 11: militum, Nep. Eum. 8: indomitam Refrenare (licentiam), Hor. C. 3, 24, 29: licentiam coërcere, Tac. H. 1, 35: in libertatibus quoque dandis nimiam licentiam compescuit lex Fufia Caninia, Gai. Inst. 2, 228.—Of inanimate things: magna gladiorum est licentia, the license of the sword is great, i. e. daring murders are prevalent, Cic. Fam. 4, 9, 12: immensa licentia ponti, Ov. M. 1, 309.—
C. Personified as a goddess: templum Licentiae (for Libertatis), Cic. Leg. 2, 17, 42; cf. Libertas.

Origins

From licēns (“free, unrestrained”) + -ia, with licēns being the present active participle of licet (“it is allowed or permitted”).

Descendants
  • Englishlicense
  • Frenchlicence
  • Italianlicenza
  • Portugueselicença
  • Romanianlicență
  • Spanishlicencia
  • Galicianlicenza
  • Piedmonteselicensa
  • Polishlicencja
  • Russianлицензия

Quick answers

What does licentia mean in Latin?
licentia, a noun, means “license; freedom; liberty”.
What is the genitive of licentia?
The genitive singular is licentiae. licentia is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce licentia?
In classical Latin, [lɪˈkɛn.ti.a]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [liˈt͡ʃɛn.t͡si.a].