permissible

the word permissible is built upon the latin verb 'permittere', which itself is a compound of 'per-' (meaning 'through, thoroughly') and 'mittere' (meaning 'to send, let go'). the core idea is of sending something through or letting it pass, which evolved into the sense of granting consent or allowance. the past participle stem 'permiss-' was adopted into english and combined with the productive suffix '-ible', derived from latin '-ibilis', which denotes ability or suitability. thus, permissible literally means 'capable of being allowed', a meaning that has remained consistent from its latin roots to its modern legal and normative usage.