Patent
WordNet
adjective
(1) Clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
"The effects of the drought are apparent to anyone who sees the parched fields"
"Evident hostility"
"Manifest disapproval"
"Patent advantages"
"Made his meaning plain"
"It is plain that he is no reactionary"
"In plain view"
(2) (of a bodily tube or passageway) open; affording free passage
"Patent ductus arteriosus"
noun
(3) A document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention
(4) An official document granting a right or privilege
verb
(5) Make open to sight or notice
"His behavior has patented an embarrassing fact about him"
(6) Obtain a patent for
"Should I patent this invention?"
(7) Grant rights to; grant a patent for
WiktionaryText
Etymology 1
Short form of Anglo-French lettre patente, "open letter" < littera patens.
Noun
- A declaration issued by a government agency declaring someone the inventor of a new invention and having the privilege of stopping others from making, using or selling the claimed invention; a letter patent.
- A specific grant of ownership of a piece of property; a land patent.
- Patent leather: a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for shoes and accessories.
Verb
- To successfully register an invention with a government agency; to secure a letter patent.
Adjective
- Open, unobstructed, expanded.
- That is a patent ductus arteriosus.
- Explicit and obvious.
Noun
- patent
Noun
- patent (official declaration that someone is the inventor of something)