Permittive

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Permitting behavior or actions without imposing strict limits or prohibitions, especially in a lenient or tolerant way
2. Characterized by allowing things that might otherwise be forbidden, showing a relaxed and tolerant attitude toward conduct
3. Tending to grant freedom or latitude rather than enforcing rules, so that certain acts are not restricted or punished

Etymology: Permittive comes from permit with the suffix "-ive," which turns a verb into an adjective meaning "tending to" or "having the quality of" the action. Permit itself traces back to the Latin "permittere," built from "per" ("through") and "mittere" ("to send"), so the original image is of sending something through a passage or letting it go by. The Latin verb's past participle, "permissus," gave English "permissive," which is why the two adjectives are close relatives. Permissive has since become the standard form, and it now carries a connotation of tolerance, sometimes of excess, that permittive does not. Permittive remains rare, used mainly for something that grants or allows, and its exact history in English is less documented than that of its more common sibling.

Synonyms: permissive, lenient, tolerant

Antonyms: restrictive, prohibitive