patent

patent
patent (n.) late 14c., "open letter or document from some authority," shortened form of Anglo-Fr. lettre patent (also in M.L. (litteræ) patentes), lit. "open letter" (late 13c.), from O.Fr. patente (adj.), from L. patentum (nom. patens) "open, lying open," prp. of patere "lie open, be open," from PIE *pet- "to spread" (Cf. Gk. petannynai "to spread out," petalon "leaf," O.N. faðmr "embrace, bosom," O.E. fæðm "embrace, fathom").
The Letters Patent were ... written upon open sheets of parchment, with the Great Seal pendent at the bottom ... [while] the 'Litteræ Clausæ,' or Letters Close, ... being of a more private nature, and addressed to one or two individuals only, were closed or folded up and sealed on the outside. [S.R. Scargill-Bird, "A Guide to the Principal Classes of Documents at the Public Record Office," 1891]
The adjectival sense of "open to view, plain, clear" is first recorded c.1500; the verb "to obtain right to land" is attested from 1670s. The meaning "copyright an invention" is first recorded 1822, from earlier meaning "obtain exclusive right or monopoly" (1789), a privilege granted by the Crown via letters patent. Related: Patented; patenting.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • patent — pat·ent 1 / pat ənt3 also pāt / adj [Anglo French, from Latin patent patens, from present participle of patēre to be open] 1 a: open to public inspection see also letters patent at letter 2 …   Law dictionary

  • patent — patent, ente [ patɑ̃, ɑ̃t ] adj. • 1292 « lettre patente »; lat. patens, p. prés. de patere « être ouvert; être évident » 1 ♦ Vx Ouvert. Hist. Lettres patentes : décision royale, sous forme de lettre ouverte, accordant ordinairement une faveur à… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • 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;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • patent — [pat′ nt; ] for adj. 2 4 & 8 [ pāt′ nt, pat′ nt; ] Brit usually [ pāt′ nt] adj. [ME < MFr & L: MFr patent < L patens, prp. of patere, to be open: see PATELLA] 1. a) open to examination by the public: said of a document granting some right… …   English World dictionary

  • patent — pàtent (patȅnt) m <G mn nātā> DEFINICIJA 1. a. dokument, isprava koja potvrđuje isključivo pravo izumitelja na primjenu svoga izuma b. ono na što je dobiven takav dokument; sam izum, poboljšanje ili racionalizacija c. naročito udešen uređaj …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • 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 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Patent — (Erfindungspatent, franz. brevet d invention, engl. patent; hierzu die Textbeilage: »Übersichtstafel der Patentgesetze der wichtigsten Staaten«), die Urkunde, durch welche die ausschließliche gewerbliche Verwertung einer neuen Erfindung für eine… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • 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. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Patent — Sn eine Urkunde über bestimmte Rechte erw. fach. (17. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus frz. patente f. Bestallungsbrief, Gewerbeschein , dieses eine gekürzte Substantivierung aus frz. lettre patente f. offener Brief , nach l. (littera) patēns f.… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Patent — (v. lat.), 1) ein offener Brief, etwas zu beglaubigen; 2) obrigkeitliche schriftliche Bekanntmachung einer wichtigen Sache durch Anschläge, so der Besitzergreifung eines erledigten Thrones, eines abgetretenen Landes; 3) schriftliche Bestallung… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • patent — {{/stl 13}}{{stl 8}}rz. mnż I, D. u, Mc. patentncie {{/stl 8}}{{stl 20}} {{/stl 20}}{{stl 12}}1. {{/stl 12}}{{stl 7}} dokument wydawany przez specjalnie powołany do tego urząd, stwierdzający oryginalność wynalazku i nadający jego autorowi prawo… …   Langenscheidt Polski wyjaśnień

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