leisure [n.] |ETYM| Old Eng. leisere, leiser, Old Fren. leisir, French loisir, orig., permission, from Latin licere to be permitted. Related to License. 1. Freedom to choose a pastime or enjoyable activity; "he lacked the leisure for golf." 2. Time available for ease and relaxation; "his job left him little leisure"; SYN. leisure time. leisure [adj.] Free from duties or responsibilities; "he writes in his leisure hours"; "life as it ought to be for the leisure classes"- J.J.Chapman; "even the artist and the sculptor were not regarded...as leisured men"- Ida Craven; SYN. leisured. license [n.] |ETYM| Written also licence. 1. A legal document giving official permission to do something; SYN. permit. 2. Excessive freedom; lack of due restraint: "when liberty becomes license dictatorship is near" -- Will Durant; "the intolerable license with which the newspapers break...the rules of decorum"- Edmund Burke. 3. Freedom to deviate deliberately from normally applicable rules or practices (especially in behavior or speech); SYN. licence. 4. The act of giving a formal (usually written) authorization; SYN. permission, permit.