patent

patent

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of patent in English

English Online Dictionary. What means patent‎? What does patent mean?

English

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈpeɪtənt/, /ˈpætənt/
  • (General American, Canada) enPR: pătʹənt, pātʹənt, IPA(key): /ˈpætənt/, [ˈpʰæ̝ʔn̩t̚], /ˈpeɪtənt/, [ˈpʰe̞ɪʔn̩t̚]
  • (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈpæɪtənt/, /ˈpætənt/
  • Rhymes: -eɪtənt, -ætənt
  • Hyphenation: pa‧tent

Etymology 1

The noun is derived from Middle English patent (“document granting an office, property, right, title, etc.; document granting permission, licence; papal indulgence, pardon”) [and other forms], which is either:

  • a clipping of lettre patent, lettres patente, lettres patentes [and other forms]; or
  • directly from Anglo-Norman and Middle French patente (modern French patent), a clipping of Anglo-Norman lettres patentes, Middle French lettres patentes, lettre patente, and Old French patentes lettres (“document granting an office, privilege, right, etc., or making a decree”) (compare Late Latin patēns, littera patēns, litterae patentēs).

For the derivation of Anglo-Norman and Middle French patente (adjective) in lettre patente, see etymology 2 below.

The verb is derived from the noun.

Noun

patent (countable and uncountable, plural patents)

  1. (law)
    1. An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.
    2. (specifically)
      1. (originally) A grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of goods.
      2. A declaration issued by a government agency that the inventor of a new invention has the sole privilege of making, selling, or using the claimed invention for a specified period.
    3. (US, historical) A specific grant of ownership of a piece of real property; a land patent.
  2. (by extension) A product in respect of which a patent (sense 1.2.2) has been obtained.
  3. (uncountable) Short for patent leather (“a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for accessories and shoes”).
  4. (figuratively)
    1. A licence or (formal) permission to do something.
    2. A characteristic or quality that one possesses; in particular (hyperbolic) as if exclusively; a monopoly.
  5. (gambling) The combination of seven bets on three selections, offering a return even if only one bet comes in.
Derived terms
Translations

Verb

patent (third-person singular simple present patents, present participle patenting, simple past and past participle patented)

  1. (transitive, law)
    1. To (successfully) register (a new invention) with a government agency to obtain the sole privilege of its manufacture, sale, and use for a specified period.
    2. (US, historical) To obtain (over a piece of real property) a specific grant of ownership.
  2. (transitive, figuratively) To be closely associated or identified with (something); to monopolize.
Derived terms
Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English patent, patente (“wide open; clear, unobstructed; unlimited; of a document: available for public inspection”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Middle French patent (modern French patent), and directly from their etymon Latin patēns (“open; accessible, passable; evident, manifest; exposed, vulnerable”), the present active participle of pateō (“to be open; to be accessible, attainable; to be exposed, vulnerable; of frontiers or land: to extent, increase”), from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly”).

Adjective

patent (comparative more patent, superlative most patent)

  1. Conspicuous; open; unconcealed.
    Synonym: overt
    1. (baking) Of flour: fine, and consisting mostly of the inner part of the endosperm of the grain from which it is milled.
    2. (medicine) Open, unobstructed; specifically, especially of the ductus arteriosus or foramen ovale in the heart, having not closed as would have happened in normal development.
    3. (medicine, veterinary medicine) Of an infection: in the phase when the organism causing it can be detected by clinical tests.
  2. Explicit and obvious.
    Synonyms: express, monosemous, unambiguous; see also Thesaurus:explicit, Thesaurus:obvious
  3. (archaic)
    1. Especially of a document conferring some privilege or right: open to public perusal or use.
    2. Appointed or conferred by letters patent.
  4. (botany) Of a branch, leaf, etc.: outspread; also, spreading at right angles to the axis.
  5. (law) Protected by a legal patent.
    Synonym: patented
  6. (by extension, figuratively) To which someone has, or seems to have, a claim or an exclusive claim; also, inventive or particularly suited for.
Derived terms
Translations

References

Further reading

  • patent on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

  • Patten, patten, pét-nat

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin patentem, from pateō.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (Central) [pəˈten]
  • IPA(key): (Balearic) [pəˈtent]
  • IPA(key): (Valencia) [paˈtent]

Noun

patent f (plural patents)

  1. patent

Further reading

  • “patent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
  • “patent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
  • “patent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Czech

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈpatɛnt]

Noun

patent m inan

  1. patent (declaration issued by a government to an inventor)

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “patent”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “patent”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
  • “patent”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech)

Danish

Noun

patent n (singular definite patentet, plural indefinite patenter)

  1. patent

Declension

Related terms

References

  • “patent” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /paːˈtɛnt/
  • Hyphenation: pa‧tent
  • Rhymes: -ɛnt

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French patente, from lettres patentes (“letter in which a privilege is granted”), from Latin litterae patentēs.

Noun

patent n (plural patenten, diminutive patentje n)

  1. patent [from 16th c.]
    Synonym: octrooi
Derived terms
  • patentrecht
Descendants
  • → Indonesian: paten
  • → Papiamentu: patènt

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German patent, originating in student slang. Related to etymology 1.

Adjective

patent (comparative patenter, superlative patentst)

  1. excellent, exquisite [from mid 19th c.]
    Synonyms: geweldig, voortreffelijk
Declension

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

patent (feminine patente, masculine plural patents, feminine plural patentes)

  1. patent (obvious)

Further reading

  • “patent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [paˈtɛnt]

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin patēns.

Adjective

patent (strong nominative masculine singular patenter, comparative patenter, superlative am patentesten)

  1. (rare, Latinism) patent, to be recognized everyone
Declension

Etymology 2

Back-formation from Patent or patentiert in early 19th century student slang.

Adjective

patent (strong nominative masculine singular patenter, comparative patenter, superlative am patentesten)

  1. (higher register colloquial, now in most regions uncommon) clever, ingenious, sleek
Declension

Further reading

  • “patent” in Duden online
  • “patent” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • “patent” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon

Hungarian

Etymology

From German Patent (“patent”) or German patent (“clever; ingenious”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈpɒtɛnt]
  • Hyphenation: pa‧tent
  • Rhymes: -ɛnt

Noun

patent (plural patentek or patentok)

  1. snap fastener, press stud
    Synonym: nyomókapocs
  2. (archaic) patent (official document)
    Synonym: szabadalom

Declension

or

Derived terms

References

Further reading

  • patent in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Latin

Pronunciation

  • (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈpa.tent/, [ˈpät̪ɛn̪t̪]
  • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈpa.tent/, [ˈpäːt̪en̪t̪]

Verb

patent

  1. third-person plural present active indicative of pateō

Middle English

Etymology 1

From a short form of lettres patentes, from Anglo-Norman lettre patente (“open letter”), from Latin littera patēns.

Alternative forms

  • patente, patentt

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /paˈtɛnt/, /ˈpatɛnt/

Noun

patent (plural patentes)

  1. A letter conferring a privilege or status.
  2. Such a privilege or status conferred.
  3. (rare) A letter conferring other advantages.
Descendants
  • English: patent (noun)
References
  • “patent(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Middle French patent, from Old French, from Latin patēns.

Alternative forms

  • patente

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /paˈtɛnt/, /ˈpatɛnt/

Adjective

patent

  1. (rare) open, unconfined, unrestricted
Descendants
  • English: patent (adjective)
References
  • “patent(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Noun

patent

  1. Alternative form of patene

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Short form of Anglo-Norman lettre patente.

Noun

patent n (definite singular patentet, indefinite plural patent or patenter, definite plural patenta or patentene)

  1. patent

Related terms

  • patentere

References

  • “patent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Short form of Anglo-Norman lettre patente.

Noun

patent n (definite singular patentet, indefinite plural patent, definite plural patenta)

  1. patent

References

  • “patent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French patente, from Latin patēns.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈpa.tɛnt/
  • Rhymes: -atɛnt
  • Syllabification: pa‧tent

Noun

patent m inan

  1. patent (official declaration that someone is the inventor of something)

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Further reading

  • patent in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • patent in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French patent.

Adjective

patent m or n (feminine singular patentă, masculine plural patenți, feminine and neuter plural patente)

  1. patent

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /pǎtent/
  • Hyphenation: pa‧tent

Noun

pàtent m (Cyrillic spelling па̀тент)

  1. patent (an official declaration that someone is the inventor of something)

Declension

Swedish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /paˈtɛnt/

Noun

patent n

  1. patent

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

  • patentera (“to patent”)

References

  • patent in Svensk ordbok (SO)
  • patent in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
  • patent in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

  • patten

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.