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Added 8 October 2026

patent

/ˈpeɪtənt/ noun

Latin root: patēns Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about patent at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention.
An official document granting a right or privilege.

verb

Obtain a patent for.
Should I patent this invention?
Grant rights to; grant a patent for.
Make open to sight or notice.
His behavior has patented an embarrassing fact about him

adjective

(of a bodily tube or passageway) open; affording free passage.
patent ductus arteriosus
Clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment.
the effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields

Origin

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).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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