"permission" as a countable noun

[lost_soul]

Hi,

I know that the word "permission" is widely used as an uncountable noun, i.e. in such patterns as "have permission", "grant permission", "forbid permission"

But are you familiar with the usages of this word as a "countable" noun?

As for me, I often encounter such usages in the computer literature where it means "pieces/atoms of permission, rights", as in "the user does not have permissions to access this folder"

Are you happy with these usages ?

Thanks !
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Alex

A native speaker of Russian

[Alan]

Hi,

Words change, meanings change - such is the nature of language. It doesn't do to get upset because a particular word changes its original meaning, sometimes in another country or in another context. In the imaginative and creative world of computing many familiar words pop up with a new identity and I presume 'permission' as you have discovered is such a one.

Alan

PS Long live the creativity of language!
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English as a Second Language
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