authority vs license

authority

noun
  • Official permission; authorisation to act in some capacity on behalf of a ruling entity. 

  • A reliable, definitive source of information on a subject. 

  • Persons, regarded collectively, who occupy official positions of power; police or law enforcement. 

  • A government-owned agency that runs a revenue-generating activity for public benefit. 

  • Status as a trustworthy source of information, reputation for mastery or expertise; or claim to such status or reputation. 

  • Power or right to make or enforce rules or give orders; or a position having such power or right. 

license

noun
  • A legal document giving official permission to do something; a permit. 

  • The legal terms under which a person is allowed to use a product, especially software. 

  • Freedom to deviate deliberately from normally applicable rules or practices (especially in behaviour or speech). 

  • Excessive freedom; lack of due restraint. 

verb
  • To give permission or freedom to; accept. 

  • To authorize officially. 

  • To acquire authorization to use, usually in exchange for compensation. 

  • To permit (as grammatically correct). 

  • To give formal authorization to use. 

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