patent

See also: Patent

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeɪtənt/, /ˈpætənt/
• enPR: pătʹənt, IPA^(key): /ˈpætənt/, [pʰæ̝ʔn̩t] or enPR: pātʹənt, IPA^(key): /ˈpeɪtənt/, [pʰe̞ɪʔn̩t]

pronunciation notes

• In the UK, the pronunciation beginning pāt-, /peɪt-/ is more common than the one beginning păt-, /pæt-/ but some use the former for the senses of "open" and the latter for senses relating to "letters patent" and the noun. Reference: OED, second edition, 1989
• In the US, the pronunciation beginning păt-, /pæt-/ is the usual one. The pronunciation beginning pāt-, /peɪt-/ is an alternative in the sense of "obvious" and "open". Reference: dictionary.com

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Etymology 1

Short form of Anglo-Norman lettre patente (“open letter”), from Latin littera patens.

Noun

patent (plural patents)

1. 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.
   • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:

     The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.

2. A specific grant of ownership of a piece of property; a land patent.
3. License; formal permission.
   • 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello, Act IV, sc. 1:

     If you are so fond over her iniquity, give her patent

     to offend, for if it touch not you, it comes near

     nobody.

4. Patent leather: a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for shoes and accessories.

Translations

declaration issued by a government to an inventor

• Armenian: արտոնագիր (hy) (artonagir)
• Burmese: မူပိုင် (my) (mupuing), မူပိုင်ခွင့် (mupuinghkwang.)
• Catalan: patent (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 專利／专利 (zh) (zhuānlì), 专利 (zh) (zhuānlì)

• Czech: patent (cs) m
• Dutch: patent (nl) n, octrooi (nl) n
• Finnish: patentti (fi)
• French: brevet (fr) m
• German: Patent (de) n
• Greek: πατέντα (el) f (paténta)
• Hindi: पेटेंट (hi) m (peṭẽṭ), पेटेण्ट (hi) m (peṭeṇṭ), अनन्याधिकार (hi) m (ananyādhikār), पेटेन्ट m (peṭenṭ)
• Hungarian: szabadalom (hu)
• Indonesian: paten (id), oktroi (id)
• Italian: brevetto (it) m
• Japanese: 特許 (とっきょ, tokkyo), 専売特許 (senbai tokkyo)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Khmer: ប៉ាតង (paatɑɑng)
• Korean: 특허 (ko) (teukheo), 특허권 (ko) (teukheogwon)
• Luxembourgish: Brevet m, Patent n
• Maori: manatitonga
• Occitan: patent
• Polish: patent (pl) m
• Portuguese: patente (pt) f
• Russian: пате́нт (ru) m (patént)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: па̀тент m

  Roman: pàtent (sh) m

• Spanish: patente (es) m
• Swedish: patent (sv) n
• Tagalog: karapatang-tuklas
• Thai: สิทธิบัตร (th) (sìt-tí-bàt)

specific grant of ownership of a piece of property

• Hindi: पेटेंट (hi) m (peṭẽṭ)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 権利証 (けんりしょう, kenri shō)

patent leather — see patent leather

Verb

patent (third-person singular simple present patents, present participle patenting, simple past and past participle patented)

1. To successfully register an invention with a government agency; to secure a letter patent.
   • 2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:

     The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.

Translations

successfully register an invention with a government agency; to secure a letter patent

• Catalan: patentar (ca)
• Finnish: patentoida (fi)
• French: breveter (fr), faire (fr) breveter (fr)
• German: patentieren (de), patentieren (de) lassen (de)
• Hindi: पेटेंट करना (peṭẽṭ karnā)
• Hungarian: szabadalmaztat (hu)
• Japanese: 特許取得 (とっきょしゅとく, tokkyo shutoku)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Occitan: patentar
• Polish: opatentować
• Portuguese: patentear
• Russian: патентова́ть (ru) (patentovátʹ), брать пате́нт (bratʹ patént)
• Spanish: patentar (es)
• Swedish: patentera (sv)

Etymology 2

(deprecated template usage) From Middle French patent, from Old French [Term?], from Latin patēns (“open, lying open”), present participle of pateō (“I lie open”).

Adjective

patent (comparative more patent, superlative most patent)

1. (biology) Open, unobstructed, expanded.

   That is a patent ductus arteriosus.

2. Explicit and obvious.

   Those claims are patent nonsense.

3. (of flour) That is fine, and consists mostly of the inner part of the endosperm.
4. Open; unconcealed; conspicuous.
   • (Can we date this quote by Motley and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     He had received instructions, both patent and secret.

5. Open to public perusal; said of a document conferring some right or privilege.

   letters patent

6. Protected by a legal patent.

   a patent right; patent medicines

   • (Can we date this quote by Mortimer and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Madder […] in King Charles the First's time, was made a patent commodity.

Derived terms

• patently

Translations

explicit and obvious

• Catalan: patent (ca)
• Finnish: suoranainen (fi), ilmeinen (fi)
• Irish: paiteanta
• Japanese: 明らかな (akirakana)
• Occitan: patent, evident, clar (oc)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Persian: عیان (fa) ('ayân)
• Polish: oczywisty (pl) m
• Portuguese: patente (pt)
• Russian: очеви́дный (ru) (očevídnyj), я́вный (ru) (jávnyj)
• Spanish: patente (es)

Anagrams

• Patten, patten, pét-nat

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pəˈten]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pəˈtent]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [paˈtent]

Noun

patent m (plural patents)

1. patent

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Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈpatɛnt]

Noun

1. patent (declaration issued by a government to an inventor)

Derived terms

• patentový

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Danish

Noun

patent n (singular definite patentet, plural indefinite patenter)

1. patent

Declension

Declension of patent

neuter gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	patent	patentet	patenter	patenterne
genitive	patents	patentets	patenters	patenternes

Related terms

• patenterbar
• patentere

 

References

• “patent” in Den Danske Ordbog

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paːˈtɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pa‧tent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French patente, from lettres patentes (“letter in which a privilege is granted”), from Latin litterae patentes.

Noun

patent n (plural patenten, diminutive patentje n)

1. patent [from 16th c.]

   Synonym: octrooi

Derived terms

• patentrecht

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German patent, originating in student slang. Related to etymology 1.

Adjective

patent (comparative patenter, superlative patentst)

1. excellent, exquisite [from mid 19th c.]

   Synonyms: geweldig, voortreffelijk

Inflection

Declension of patent
uninflected	patent
inflected	patente
comparative	patenter
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		patent	patenter	het patentst het patentste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	patente	patentere	patentste
	n. sing.	patent	patenter	patentste
	plural	patente	patentere	patentste
definite		patente	patentere	patentste
partitive		patents	patenters	—

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German

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

patent (comparative patenter, superlative am patentesten)

1. clever
2. ingenious

Further reading

• “patent” in Duden online

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.tent/, [ˈpät̪ɛn̪t̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpa.tent/, [ˈpäːt̪en̪t̪]

Verb

(deprecated template usage) patent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of pateō

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Short form of Anglo-Norman lettre patente.

Noun

patent n (definite singular patentet, indefinite plural patent or patenter, definite plural patenta or patentene)

1. patent

Related terms

• patentere

References

• “patent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Short form of Anglo-Norman lettre patente.

Noun

patent n (definite singular patentet, indefinite plural patent, definite plural patenta)

1. patent

References

• “patent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpa.tɛnt/

Noun

patent m inan

1. patent (official declaration that someone is the inventor of something)

Declension

Declension of patent

	singular	plural
nominative	patent	patenty
genitive	patentu	patentów
dative	patentowi	patentom
accusative	patent	patenty
instrumental	patentem	patentami
locative	patencie	patentach
vocative	patencie	patenty

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Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pǎtent/
• Hyphenation: pa‧tent

Noun

pàtent m (Cyrillic spelling па̀тент)

1. patent (official declaration that someone is the inventor of something)

Declension

Declension of patent

	singular	plural
nominative	pàtent	patenti
genitive	patenta	patenātā
dative	patentu	patentima
accusative	patenta	patente
vocative	patente	patenti
locative	patentu	patentima
instrumental	patentom	patentima

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paˈtɛnt/

Noun

patent n

1. patent

Declension

Declension of patent
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	patent	patentet	patent	patenten
Genitive	patents	patentets	patents	patentens

Related terms

• pantentsökt
• patentanspråk
• patentansökan
• patentbyrå
• patentera
• patentlås
• patentskydd
• patentskydda
• patentverk