allow vs permit

allow

verb
  • To acknowledge; to accept as true; to concede; to accede to an opinion. 

  • To not bar or obstruct. 

  • To render physically possible. 

  • To grant, give, admit, accord, afford, or yield; to let one have. 

  • To grant license to; to permit; to consent to. 

  • To grant (something) as a deduction or an addition; especially to abate or deduct. 

  • To take into account by making an allowance. 

  • To decide (a request) in favour of the party who raised it; to grant victory to a party regarding (a request). 

permit

verb
  • To allow, to admit (of). 

  • To allow (something) to happen, to give permission for. 

  • To allow for, to make something possible. 

  • To grant formal authorization for (something). 

  • To attempt to obtain or succeed in obtaining formal authorization for (something). 

  • To allow (someone) to do something; to give permission to. 

noun
  • A pompano of the species Trachinotus falcatus. 

  • An artifact or document rendering something allowed or legal. 

  • A learner's permit. 

How often have the words allow and permit occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )