Adjacent Words

patent definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: (of a bodily tube or passageway) open; affording free passage; "patent ductus arteriosus"
2: 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" [syn: apparent, evident, manifest, patent, plain, unmistakable] n
1: a document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention [syn: patent, patent of invention]
2: an official document granting a right or privilege [syn: patent, letters patent] v
1: obtain a patent for; "Should I patent this invention?"
2: grant rights to; grant a patent for
3: make open to sight or notice; "His behavior has patented an embarrassing fact about him"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin patent-, patens, from present participle of pat?re to be open — more at fathom Date: 14th century 1. a. open to public inspection — used chiefly in the phrase letters patent b. (1) secured by letters patent or by a patent to the exclusive control and possession of a particular individual or party (2) protected by a patent ; made under a patent <patent locks> c. protected by a trademark or a brand name so as to establish proprietary rights analogous to those conveyed by letters patent or a patent ; proprietary <patent drugs> 2. of, relating to, or concerned with the granting of patents especially for inventions <a patent lawyer> 3. making exclusive or proprietary claims or pretensions 4. affording free passage ; unobstructed <a patent opening> 5. patulous, spreading <a patent calyx> 6. archaic accessible, exposed 7. readily visible or intelligible ; obvious Synonyms: see evident • patently adverb II. noun Date: 14th century 1. an official document conferring a right or privilege ; letters patent 2. a. a writing securing for a term of years the exclusive right to make, use, or sell an invention b. the monopoly or right so granted c. a patented invention 3. privilege, license 4. an instrument making a conveyance of public lands; also the land so conveyed 5. patent leather III. transitive verb Date: 1675 1. to obtain or grant a patent right to 2. to grant a privilege, right, or license to by patent 3. to obtain or secure by patent; especially to secure by letters patent exclusive right to make, use, or sell • patentability noun • patentable adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n., adj., & v. --n. 1 a government authority to an individual or organization conferring a right or title, esp. the sole right to make or use or sell some invention. 2 a document granting this authority. 3 an invention or process protected by it. --adj. 1 obvious, plain. 2 conferred or protected by patent. 3 a made and marketed under a patent; proprietary. b to which one has a proprietary claim. 4 such as might be patented; ingenious, well-contrived. 5 (of an opening etc.) allowing free passage. --v.tr. obtain a patent for (an invention). Phrases and idioms: letters patent an open document from a sovereign or government conferring a patent or other right. patent leather leather with a glossy varnished surface. patent medicine medicine made and marketed under a patent and available without prescription. patent office an office from which patents are issued. Patent Roll (in the UK) a list of patents issued in a year. Derivatives: patency n. patentable adj. patently adv. (in sense 1 of adj.). Etymology: ME f. OF patent and L patere lie open

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Patent Pat"ent, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Patented; p. pr. & vb. n. Patenting.] To grant by patent; to make the subject of a patent; to secure or protect by patent; as, to patent an invention; to patent public lands.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Patent Pat"ent (p[a^]t"ent or p[=a]t"ent), a. [L. patens, -entis, p. pr. of patere to be open: cf. F. patent. Cf. Fathom.] 1. Note: (Oftener pronounced p[=a]t"ent in this sense) Open; expanded; evident; apparent; unconcealed; manifest; public; conspicuous. He had received instructions, both patent and secret. --Motley. 2. Open to public perusal; -- said of a document conferring some right or privilege; as, letters patent. See Letters patent, under 3d Letter. 3. Appropriated or protected by letters patent; secured by official authority to the exclusive possession, control, and disposal of some person or party; patented; as, a patent right; patent medicines. Madder . . . in King Charles the First's time, was made a patent commodity. --Mortimer. 4. (Bot.) Spreading; forming a nearly right angle with the steam or branch; as, a patent leaf. Patent leather, a varnished or lacquered leather, used for boots and shoes, and in carriage and harness work. Patent office, a government bureau for the examination of inventions and the granting of patents. Patent right. (a) The exclusive right to an invention, and the control of its manufacture. (b) (Law) The right, granted by the sovereign, of exclusive control of some business of manufacture, or of the sale of certain articles, or of certain offices or prerogatives. Patent rolls, the registers, or records, of patents.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Patent Pat"ent, n. [Cf. F. patente. See Patent, a.] 1. A letter patent, or letters patent; an official document, issued by a sovereign power, conferring a right or privilege on some person or party. Specifically: (a) A writing securing to an invention. (b) A document making a grant and conveyance of public lands. Four other gentlemen of quality remained mentioned in that patent. --Fuller. Note: In the United States, by the act of 1870, patents for inventions are issued for seventeen years, without the privilege of renewal except by act of Congress. 2. The right or privilege conferred by such a document; hence, figuratively, a right, privilege, or license of the nature of a patent. If you are so fond over her iniquity, give her patent to offend. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(patents, patenting, patented) Note: The pronunciation is also used for meanings 1 and 2 in British English. 1. A patent is an official right to be the only person or company allowed to make or sell a new product for a certain period of time. P&G applied for a patent on its cookies... He held a number of patents for his many innovations... N-COUNT 2. If you patent something, you obtain a patent for it. He patented the idea that the atom could be split... ...a patented machine called the VCR II. VERB: V n, V-ed 3. You use patent to describe something, especially something bad, in order to indicate in an emphatic way that you think its nature or existence is clear and obvious. This was patent nonsense. ...a patent lie. = obvious ADJ [emphasis] • patently He made his displeasure patently obvious... = clearly ADV

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Open, spreading, expanded. 2. Patented. 3. Open, apparent, evident, plain, obvious, manifest, clear, public, conspicuous, unconcealed, palpable, unmistakable, glaring, notorious, indisputable.

Moby Thesaurus

OK, admission, aegis, allowance, apparent, arm, arm guard, armor, authorize, backstop, blank check, blatant, bless, bound, brevet, buffer, bulwark, bumper, carte blanche, certificate, certificate of invention, certify, champion, charter, clean-cut, clear, clear as crystal, clear-cut, cloak, compass about, concession, condition, confine, consent, conserve, conspicuous, contain, contraceptive, control, copyright, cover, crash helmet, crystal-clear, cushion, dashboard, defend, defined, definite, diploma, diplomatic immunity, discernible, discharge, discipline, dispensation, distinct, dodger, draw the line, empower, enable, enfranchise, ensure, entitle, evident, exception, exemption, explicit, express, face mask, favor, fence, fend, fender, finger guard, flagrant, foot guard, franchise, freedom, fuse, give official sanction, give power, glaring, goggles, governor, grant, gross, guarantee, guard, guardrail, hand guard, handrail, harbor, hard hat, haven, hedge about, helmet, immunity, in focus, indisputable, indubitable, indulgence, insulation, insure, interlock, keep, keep alive, keep from harm, keep intact, keep inviolate, keep safe, keep up, knee guard, knuckle guard, laminated glass, leave, legalize, legislative immunity, legitimize, letters patent, liberty, license, life preserver, lifeline, lightning conductor, lightning rod, limit, maintain, make safe, manifest, mask, moderate, mudguard, narrow, nestle, nose guard, not destroy, not endanger, not expend, not use up, not waste, noticeable, observable, obvious, okay, open-and-shut, pad, padding, palladium, palpable, perceivable, perceptible, permission, permission to enter, permit, perspicuous, physical, pilot, plain, plain as day, police, preserve, preventive, privilege, prominent, pronounced, prophylactic, protect, protective clothing, protective umbrella, qualify, rank, ratify, register, registered trademark, release, restrain, restrict, ride shotgun for, royal grant, safeguard, safety, safety glass, safety plug, safety rail, safety shoes, safety switch, safety valve, sanction, save, scant, screen, seat belt, secure, seeable, self-evident, self-explaining, self-explanatory, service mark, shelter, shield, shin guard, shroud, spare, special favor, special permission, specialize, staring, stint, straightforward, straiten, sun helmet, support, sustain, tangible, ticket, ticket of admission, to be seen, trade name, trademark, transparent, umbrella, unclosed, underwrite, unequivocal, unmistakable, unobstructed, uphold, validate, visible, vouchsafement, waiver, warrant, well-defined, well-marked, well-pronounced, well-resolved, windscreen, windshield