English
admit
Admit comes from Middle English admitten, from Old French admettre, from Latin admittō ‘to let in’, from ad- + mittō ‘to send’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō‘to send’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmittō‘to allow entrance’literally ‘to send to’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400admettre‘to admit’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500admitten
- Englishearliest quotation 1669admit
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō‘to send’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEadmittō‘to allow entrance’literally ‘to send to’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400admettre‘to admit’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500admitten
- Englishearliest quotation 1669admit
Earliest quotation: 1669, William Holder: “Four bells admit twenty-four changes in ringing.”
The story
From Middle English admitten, amitten, borrowed from Old French admettre, amettre (‘to admit’), from Latin admittō (“to allow entrance, inlet”, literally “to send to”), from ad- + mittere (‘to send’).
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *meitō ‘to put forth, put out’
remission, unremitting, 19 more
through Old Latin mītō
permission, transmission, submission, emission, omission, remit, commissariat, 21 more
through Latin mittō ‘to send, dispatch, cause to go, let go,…’
commission, mission, committee, mess, missile, commit, dismiss, premise, transmit, intermittent, commissary, permissive, emit, commissar, omit, remiss, amit, missive, 32 more
through Latin admittō ‘to allow entrance, inlet’
Today it means
verb To allow to enter; to grant entrance (to), whether into a place, into the mind, or into consideration.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin mittō / admit