patent

[pat-nt or for 10, 12–15, peyt-; especially British peyt-nt]

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noun

the exclusive right granted by a government to an inventor to manufacture, use, or sell an invention for a certain number of years.

an invention or process protected by this right.

an official document conferring such a right; letters patent.

the instrument by which the government of the United States conveys the legal fee-simple title to public land.

patent leather.

adjective pa·tent [peyt-nt] /ˈpeɪt nt/ (for 10, 12–15)

protected by a patent; patented: a patent cooling device.

pertaining to, concerned with, or dealing with patents, especially on inventions: a patent attorney; patent law.

conferred by a patent, as a right or privilege.

holding a patent, as a person.

readily open to notice or observation; evident; obvious: a patent breach of good manners.

made of patent leather: patent shoes.

lying open; not enclosed or shut in: a patent field.

Chiefly Botany. expanded or spreading.

open, as a doorway or a passage.

Phonetics. open, in various degrees, to the passage of the breath stream.

verb (used with object)

to take out a patent on; obtain the exclusive rights to (an invention, process, etc.) by a patent.

to originate and establish as one's own.

Metallurgy. to heat and quench (wire) so as to prepare for cold-drawing.

to grant (public land) by a patent.

Nearby words

Origin of patent

1250–1300; (adj.) Middle English < Latin patent- (stem of patēns) open, orig. present participle of patēre to stand wide open; (noun) Middle English, short for letters patent, translation of Medieval Latin litterae patentēs open letters

SYNONYMS FOR patent

10. clear, palpable, conspicuous, unconcealed.

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ANTONYMS FOR patent

10. dim, obscure, hidden.

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Related forms

pat·ent·a·ble, adjectivepat·ent·a·bil·i·ty, nounpat·ent·a·bly, adverbpa·tent·ly, adverb

non·pat·ent·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·pat·ent·a·ble, adjectivenon·pat·ent·ed, adjectivenon·pat·ent·ly, adverbpre·pat·ent, noun, verb (used with object)un·pat·ent, adjectiveun·pat·ent·a·bil·i·ty, nounun·pat·ent·a·ble, adjectiveun·pat·ent·ed, adjective

Synonym study

10. See apparent.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for patent

Having received a patent on the technology in 1986, Hull founded 3D Systems to commercialize his discoveries.
Pioneers in Printing|The Daily Beast|October 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Language from the patent mandates that the technology be used with “hearing device, headphones, ear buds, or headsets.”
Apple Wants to Make Your Head Into an App|Abby Haglage|February 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The day ends in Iowa, of all places, with a one-sentence entry: “Christian K. Nelson took out a patent on the Eskimo Pie.”
Best Year Ever: How 1922 Birthed Modernism|Mark Braude|September 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Despite its patent fallacy, the impact of the “Christian Nation” revisionist history on American attitudes is substantial.
We’re Not a Christian Nation|Fred Rich|July 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Other companies (or patent trolls) might not be so benevolent.
The Supremes Get It Right, Naturally.|Sam Kean|June 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She was no longer a duchess by patent; she was a queen by right of inheritance; she was now to be a power among the great.
The Puppet Crown|Harold MacGrath
A patentee who assigns his patent cannot, when sued for infringement, contest the validity thereof.
Practical Pointers for Patentees|Franklin Cresee
Miss Corelli knows these things, of course, for they are patent to the world; but she allows zeal to run away with judgment.
My Contemporaries In Fiction|David Christie Murray
The complete method (of which the multiple line of approach is the expression) is the antithesis of the special or patent method.
The Principles of Language-Study|Harold E. Palmer
What variations may be claimed or covered by the patent consistently with unity of design.
Scientific American, Vol.22, No. 1, January 1, 1870|Various

British Dictionary definitions for patent

patent

noun

a government grant to an inventor assuring him the sole right to make, use, and sell his invention for a limited period
a document conveying such a grant

an invention, privilege, etc, protected by a patent

an official document granting a right
any right granted by such a document

(in the US)

a grant by the government of title to public lands
the instrument by which such title is granted
the land so granted

a sign that one possesses a certain quality

adjective

open or available for inspection (esp in the phrases letters patent, patent writ)

(ˈpeɪtənt) obvioustheir scorn was patent to everyone

concerning protection, appointment, etc, of or by a patent or patents

proprietary

(esp of a bodily passage or duct) being open or unobstructed

biology spreading out widelypatent branches

(of plate glass) ground and polished on both sides

verb (tr)

to obtain a patent for

(in the US) to grant (public land or mineral rights) by a patent

metallurgy to heat (a metal) above a transformation temperature and cool it at a rate that allows cold working

Derived Formspatentable, adjectivepatentability, noun

Word Origin for patent

C14: via Old French from Latin patēre to lie open; n use, short for letters patent, from Medieval Latin litterae patentes letters lying open (to public inspection)

usage

The pronunciation (ˈpætənt) is heard in letters patent and Patent Office and is the usual US pronunciation for all senses. In Britain (ˈpætənt) is sometimes heard for senses 1, 2 and 3, but (ˈpeɪtənt) is commoner and is regularly used in collocations like patent leather

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for patent

patent

late 14c., "open letter or document from some authority," shortened form of Anglo-French lettre patent (also in Medieval Latin (litteræ) patentes), literally "open letter" (late 13c.), from Old French patente (see patent (adj.).

The Letters Patent were ... written upon open sheets of parchment, with the Great Seal pendent at the bottom ... [while] the 'Litteræ Clausæ,' or Letters Close, ... being of a more private nature, and addressed to one or two individuals only, were closed or folded up and sealed on the outside. [S.R. Scargill-Bird, "A Guide to the Principal Classes of Documents at the Public Record Office," 1891]

Meaning "a license covering an invention" is from 1580s.

patent

"to obtain right to land," 1670s, from patent (n.). The meaning "copyright an invention" is first recorded 1822, from earlier meaning "obtain exclusive right or monopoly" (1789), a privilege granted by the Crown via letters patent. Related: Patented; patenting.

adj.

late 14c., in letters patent, literally "open letter," from Old French patente, from Latin patentum (nominative patens) "open, lying open," present participle of patere "lie open, be open," from PIE *pete- "to spread" (see pace (n.)). Sense of "open to view, plain, clear" is first recorded c.1500. Related: Patently.

Medicine definitions for patent

patent

[păt′nt]

n.

A grant made by a government that confers upon the creator of an invention the sole right to make, use, and sell that invention for a set period of time.

An invention protected by such a grant.

adj.

Of, relating to, or being a nonprescription drug or other medical preparation that is often protected by a trademark.

Not blocked; open.

Spreading open; expanded.

v.

To obtain a patent on or for something, such as an invention.

To invent, originate, or be the proprietor of an idea.

To grant a patent to someone or for something.

patent

noun

adjective pa·tent [peyt-nt] /ˈpeɪt nt/ (for 10, 12–15)

verb (used with object)

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Origin of patent

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Examples from the Web for patent

patent

noun

adjective

verb (tr)

Word Origin for patent

usage

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