Talk:licence

British issue

We seem to have gotten so tied up with the verb issue that it is now unclear that this is a valid noun in British English. This should be prominent in this article.Rog 16:03, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

Yes, licence is British, not American. I don’t know if it’s also Canadian or Australian, but definitely not American. —Stephen 13:20, 4 September 2009 (UTC)

Pond issue

In American English, "license" is used for both noun and verb. In Commonwealth spelling, "licence" is a noun (as in "driving licence"), but "license" is a verb. For example, "I am licensed to operate this type of vehicle. Here is my licence."

See the following website as an example:

http://www.dvla.gov.uk/

You're wrong. Licence can be used as a verb.

See these dictionaries:

• [1]
• [2]
• [3]
• [4]

And some random references:

• [5]
• [6]
• [7]

And changing this entry to refer to license is simply wrong, license has already got its own article. Jonathan Webley 10:32, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Is "licence" used as a verb? Yes, on occasion. Is that use considered correct by authorities on the English language? No. I could argue this issue all day, and provide links to many far more reputable sources that support my argument, but my corrections would likely be changed within hours.

Agreed. "licence" as a verb removed.

From Oxford University Press: Do not confuse licence with license. Licence is a noun which means 'a permit to do something' (a driving licence), whereas license is a verb meaning 'give a permit to someone: allow something' (the loggers are licensed to cut mahogany trees). In American English, both the noun and the verb are spelled license.

Can anyone provide a compelling reason to leave the verb form in this entry?

Yes - the references quoted above. Wiktionary, like all modern dictionaries, reflects the actual usage of words, rather than somebody's concept of correct usage. Jonathan Webley 20:16, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

You over-simplify massively. Most dictionaries, even modern ones, will point out usages which are widely considered 'wrong'. 'Refute', used to mean 'deny', is being mis-used, however many politicians use it that way; common spelling errors remain spelling errors, even when they get very common; and so on and so forth. To use licence as a verb is still very widely considered to be a mistake; the entry should undoubtedly note this, and now does. --Oolong 10:17, 22 August 2006 (UTC).