免許
めんきょ · menkyo · JLPT N3 · noun
license
🪪 免許 = exempt + allow: you're excused from the ban and allowed to act
免 means to exempt or excuse (as in 免税, tax-free), and 許 means to permit (as in 許可). A license excuses you from a general prohibition. The most common use is 運転免許, a driver's license.
免 — pictograph of a person 人 with a hat or helmet
免 originally depicted a person wearing a hat or helmet, suggesting removal or taking off. The meaning shifted to 'avoid, exempt, escape from' — as in escaping a duty or being spared. It is graphically related to 兔 (rabbit), but the two characters have distinct origins.