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Illicit vs Licit
Licit is far less common than its antonym illicit, but you probably won't be surprised to learn that the former is the older of the two. Not by much, though: the first known use of licit in print is from 1483, whereas illicit shows up in print for the first time in 1506. For some reason illicit took off while licit just plodded along. When licit appears these days, it often modifies drugs or crops. Meanwhile, illicit shows up before words like thrill and passion (as well as gambling, relationship, activities, and, of course, drugs and crops.) The Latin word licitus, meaning "lawful," is the root of the pair; licitus itself is from licēre, meaning "to be permitted."
Examples of licit in a Sentence
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2024
In Guerrero, more than 65% live in poverty, and around 40 criminal groups operate in different licit and illicit activities, according to the International Crisis Group.
—Karol Suárez, The Courier-Journal, 25 Apr. 2024
Farmers upstate were growing fields of licit marijuana!
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024
In trying to please its senior ranks, the army has allowed officers to benefit from criminal enterprises—the army helps preside over Myanmar’s licit and illicit economies.
—Avinash Paliwal, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2024
But animals’ taste for human goods — licit and illicit — can also bring trouble for them and for us.
—Emily Anthes, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2023
The only morally licit treatment of an ectopic pregnancy, for a Catholic, besides watch and wait, is the salpingectomy, on the basis that the demise of the pregnancy is an indirect effect of acting to preserve the mother’s life.
—Joanna Petrone, Longreads, 18 Aug. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Licit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/licit. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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licit
adjective
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