# patent

Pronunciation: US say "PAT-uhnt" /ˈpætənt/; UK say "PAY-tuhnt" /ˈpeɪtənt/

## Noun

1. An official declaration from a government agency granting an inventor the sole right to make, sell, or use a new invention for a fixed period.
   - Simple: An official paper that gives an inventor the only right to make and sell a new invention for a set time.
   - _Engineers rushed to file a patent before a competitor could claim the same idea._
   - _The drug's patent expires next year, opening the market to generic versions._
5. Ellipsis of patent leather. — Ellipsis of patent leather (“a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for accessories and shoes”).
   - Simple: Short for patent leather, a shiny, varnished leather used for shoes and bags.
   - _The dancer's patent pumps gleamed across the stage._
   - _She prefers patent for evening shoes because it catches the light._
6. An official document by which a government or sovereign grants someone an appointment, privilege, right, title, or property.
   - Simple: An official paper from a ruler or government that gives someone a right, title, or piece of land.
   - _The crown issued a patent appointing him to the new office._
   - _Settlers received a patent granting them title to the riverside fields._
7. An official grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of particular goods.
   - Simple: A right from the government that lets only one maker sell certain goods.
   - _The crown granted a patent giving a single firm control of the glass trade._
   - _Critics argued the patent let one supplier overcharge for everyday goods._
8. A license or formal permission granting someone the freedom to do something.
   - Simple: Permission or the right to do something as you wish.
   - _Winning the award seemed to give her a patent to speak her mind freely._
   - _Fame gave the actor a patent to behave outrageously in public._
9. A manufactured item for which the maker has secured a patent.
   - Simple: A product that someone has gotten a patent for.
   - _Peddlers once hawked every sort of patent at the county fair._
   - _The catalog listed dozens of patents for everyday household chores._
11. A quality or trait that someone possesses, spoken of as though they held an exclusive monopoly on it.
   - Simple: A quality that someone has, talked about as if only they have it.
   - _He behaves as though he owns a patent on common sense._
   - _Nobody has a patent on suffering; everyone faces hardship._
17. An official grant from the government conferring ownership of a specific piece of real property; a land grant. *(US)*
   - Simple: An official paper from the government giving someone ownership of a piece of land.
   - _The homesteader filed his claim and eventually secured a patent to the quarter-section._
   - _Title to the ranch traced back to a federal patent issued in 1872._
22. A wager combining seven bets across three selections, yielding a return even when only one of the selections wins.
   - Simple: A bet made up of seven smaller bets on three choices, paying out even if only one wins.
   - _She backed three horses with a patent, covering every winning combination at once._
   - _A patent costs more than a single bet because it bundles seven separate stakes._

## Adjective

2. Clear and obvious, so that something can be readily seen or understood without any explanation. (pronounced: say "PAY-tuhnt" /ˈpeɪtənt/)
   - Simple: Very clear and easy for anyone to see.
   - _His discomfort during the interview was patent, despite his attempts to hide it._
   - _The flaws in the plan became patent once the team reviewed the budget._
4. Legally protected by an exclusive government grant, so that only the holder may produce or sell the invention.
   - Simple: Kept safe by law so that only the owner can make or sell it.
   - _The manufacturer relies on a patent mechanism that competitors cannot legally reproduce._
   - _Their patent coating is licensed to several other firms._
10. Openly visible and unconcealed, standing out so as to be readily noticed. (pronounced: say "PAY-tuhnt" /ˈpeɪtənt/)
   - Simple: Out in the open and easy for anyone to notice.
   - _The rivalry between the two departments was patent and openly discussed._
   - _Signs of neglect were patent throughout the abandoned house._
13. Open and unobstructed; especially of the ductus arteriosus or foramen ovale, not having closed as normal development would require. (pronounced: say "PAY-tuhnt" /ˈpeɪtənt/)
   - Simple: Still open instead of closed, especially a small opening in the heart that normally closes after birth.
   - _Ultrasound confirmed a patent ductus arteriosus in the premature infant._
   - _If the foramen ovale remains patent into adulthood, it can allow abnormal blood flow._
14. Describing an infection during the stage at which the causative organism becomes detectable through clinical testing. (pronounced: say "PAY-tuhnt" /ˈpeɪtənt/)
   - Simple: Describes an infection at the stage when tests can find the germ causing it.
   - _The malaria became patent when parasites appeared in the patient's blood film._
   - _Veterinarians wait until the worm infection is patent before running fecal egg counts._
15. Of flour: fine in texture and consisting mainly of the inner endosperm of the grain from which it is milled. (pronounced: say "PAY-tuhnt" /ˈpeɪtənt/)
   - Simple: Describes flour that is very fine and made mostly from the soft inside of the grain.
   - _Patent flour produces a paler, finer crumb than whole-grain alternatives._
   - _The mill sells a high-grade patent flour drawn from the purest endosperm streams._
16. Of a branch, leaf, or similar structure: outspread, and especially spreading at right angles to the axis. (pronounced: say "PAY-tuhnt" /ˈpeɪtənt/)
   - Simple: Describes a branch or leaf that spreads out wide, often sticking straight out from the stem.
   - _The herb's patent leaves spread almost flat against the surrounding soil._
   - _Botanists noted the patent branching that held each twig at a right angle to the trunk._
19. To which a person has, or appears to have, an exclusive claim; also, especially inventive or well suited to someone.
   - Simple: Seen as belonging to one person as their own, or perfectly suited to them.
   - _Improvised excuses were his patent specialty, deployed with practiced ease._
   - _She had a patent knack for defusing arguments before they boiled over._

## Verb

3. To register a new invention with a government agency in order to secure the exclusive right to make, sell, and use it.
   - Simple: To officially register a new invention so only you can make and sell it.
   - _The startup rushed to patent its algorithm before rivals filed similar claims._
   - _Edison patented hundreds of devices over the course of his career._
12. To be so closely identified with something that one effectively monopolizes it.
   - Simple: To be so closely linked with something that people think only you do it.
   - _Certain directors patent a visual signature so distinctive that a single frame reveals them._
   - _He had so completely patented the deadpan delivery that copycats looked like frauds._
18. To secure from the government a specific grant of ownership over a piece of real property. *(US)*
   - Simple: To get an official grant from the government that makes a piece of land your own.
   - _Homesteaders who patent their claims gain full legal title to the land._
   - _He patented the riverside parcel only after surveying its exact boundaries._

## Adjective

20. Especially of a document granting a privilege or right: open to public inspection or use rather than sealed and private. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Describes a document that is open for anyone to read or use, not kept secret.
   - _The sovereign's grant was patent, addressed to all subjects and open for any to examine._
   - _Such commissions were issued patent so their terms lay open to public view._
21. Of an office, title, or right: appointed or conferred by letters patent. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Officially given to someone by a public order from a ruler.
   - _The earldom was a patent dignity, conferred by the sovereign's formal grant._
   - _He claimed a patent office that only the crown could bestow._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3, 5–9, 11–12, 17–18, 22** — The noun comes from Middle English patent, meaning a document that grants an office, property, right, or permission. It is either a shortening of 'lettre patent' or taken directly from Anglo-Norman and Middle French patente, itself a clipping of 'lettres patentes' (compare Late Latin littera patēns). The verb is derived from the noun.
**Meanings 2, 4, 10, 13–16, 19–21** — From Middle English patent ('wide open; clear, unobstructed'), from Anglo-Norman and Middle French patent, and directly from Latin patēns ('open; accessible; evident'), the present active participle of pateō ('to be open'), from Proto-Indo-European *peth₂- ('to spread out; to fly').

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/patent (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).