Sekirov Dictionary

patent

UK /ˈpeɪtənt/US /ˈpætənt/

adjective 10
noun 9
verb 3
forms 6

adjective10

•
Conspicuous; open; unconcealed.
- At the departure of Philip he had received instructions, both patent and secret, for his guidance as stadholder of Holland, Friesland, and Utrecht. — 1856
•
Explicit and obvious.
- Those claims are patent nonsense.
•
Protected by a legal patent.
- patent medicines
•
Open, unobstructed; specifically, especially of the ductus arteriosus or foramen ovale in the heart, having not closed as would have happened in normal development.
- She has a patent ductus arteriosus that will require surgery to close.
(figurative) To which someone has, or seems to have, a claim or an exclusive claim; also, inventive or particularly suited for.
Of flour: fine, and consisting mostly of the inner part of the endosperm of the grain from which it is milled.
Of an infection: in the phase when the organism causing it can be detected by clinical tests.
Of a branch, leaf, etc.: outspread; also, spreading at right angles to the axis.
(no longer used) Especially of a document conferring some privilege or right: open to public perusal or use.
(no longer used) Appointed or conferred by letters patent.

noun9

A grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of goods.
A declaration issued by a government agency that the inventor of a new invention has the sole privilege of making, selling, or using the claimed invention for a specified period.
•
An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.
- […] Squib proved clearly by his patent that the house and office did now belong to him. — 1660
(US, historical) A specific grant of ownership of a piece of real property; a land patent.
•
(figurative) A licence or (formal) permission to do something.
- If you be so fond ouer her iniquity, giue her patent to offend, for if it touches not you, it comes neere no body. — 1603
Ellipsis of patent leather (“a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for accessories and shoes”).
A product in respect of which a patent has been obtained.
•
(figurative) A characteristic or quality that one possesses; in particular (hyperbolic) as if exclusively; a monopoly.
- So will I growe, so liue, so die my Lord, / Ere I will yield my virgin Patent, vp / Vnto his Lordshippe, whose vnwished yoake / My soule consents not to giue souerainty. — 1595
The combination of seven bets on three selections, offering a return even if only one bet comes in.

verb3

•
To (successfully) register (a new invention) with a government agency to obtain the sole privilege of its manufacture, sale, and use for a specified period.
- To his great credit, Manson refused to patent his invention, as he desired to remove any obstacle to its adoption by other companies. — 1946
(US, historical) To obtain (over a piece of real property) a specific grant of ownership.
(figurative) To be closely associated or identified with (something); to monopolize.

forms

patented · patenting · patents · more patent · most patent · patentest

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