▪ I. patent, a.
(ˈpeɪtənt, ˈpætənt)
Also 5 patant, 5–8 pattent, 6 patentt, paytent, paten, 6–7 patten.
[In branch I, a. F. patent, -ente, ad. L. patēnt-em open, lying open, pr. pple. of patēre to lie open, esp. in lettres patentes (1292 in Britton), med.L. litteræ patentes; in II, directly from L. (For the analogy of pronunciation, cf. lātent, pārent; (ˈpætənt) prevails in U.S. So in the derivatives. In official use in England, branches I and II are sometimes differentiated as (ˈpætənt) and (ˈpeɪtənt).]
I. 1. In letters patent (Lat. litteræ patentes, Fr. lettres patentes, whence, 15–18th c., letters patents); also, in 14th c., lettre patent: An open letter or document (see quot. 1891), usually from a sovereign or person in authority, issued for various purposes, e.g. to put on record some agreement or contract, to authorize or command something to be done, to confer some right, privilege, title, property, or office; now, especially, to grant for a statutory term to a person or persons the sole right to make, use, or sell some invention.
| [1292 Britton i. i. §10 Nous les maunderoms par nos lettres patentes.] 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 55 Kyng William seiþ in his own lettre patent [L. litteris suis patentibus, 1432–50 letters patent] þat he and his successoures and men of Scotlond schulde doo homage legeaunce and feaute to the kynges of Engelond. 1398 ― Barth. De P.R. xix. lxi. (1495) 898 Letters ben sealyd wyth wexe closyd and patent. 1486 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 3 Thomas Roger to whome it pleased the Kyng..by his letters patentes vnder his grete seall to graunte thoffice of keper and clerk of his Shipps. 1530 Palsgr. 252/2 Patent letters, lettres patentes. 1598 Hakluyt Voy. I. 153 In testimony whereof we haue caused these our letters to be made patents. 1612 Davies Why Ireland, etc. (1787) 6 He gave license by his letters patent. 1707 Chamberlayne Pres. St. Eng. ii. ii. 79 The King..By his Letters Patent may erect new Universities, Boroughs, Colleges, Hospitals [etc.]. Ibid. xiv. 189 Here [High Court of Chancery] are sealed and enrolled Letters Patents. 1863 H. Cox Instit. i. vii. 65 Richard II was the first to confer the peerage by letters-patent. 1891 Scargill-Bird Guide to P.R.O. 32 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. |
| fig. a 1592 Greene Jas. IV, ii. i. Wks. 198 Living by your wit as you do, shifting is your letters-patents. a 1625 Boys in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. xix. Introd., It is a letter patent, or open epistle for all. 1660 Gauden God's Gt. Demonstr. 56 By the Letters pattents of the holy Scriptures, whereof no man..can without sin be ignorant. 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) III. 338 What party by..virtue of any immediate testimonial from heaven are thus intitled? Where are the letters-patent? the credentials? |
2. a. Conferred by letters patent; endowed with a patent. Of a person: Appointed by letters patent.
patent house,
patent theatre, a theatre established by Royal Patent;
spec. in London, the theatres of Covent Garden and Drury Lane, whose Patents were granted by Charles II in 1662.
| 1597–8 Act 39 Eliz. c. 4 §2 All..Proctors, Procurors Patent Gatherers or Collectors for Gaoles Prisons or Hospitalles. 1660 Pepys Diary 4 May, In case the King do restore every man to his places that ever had been patent. 1707 Chamberlayne Pres. St. Eng. iii. 501 Patent-Officers [of the Customs] in the Out-Ports. 1835 Dickens Sk. Boz (1837) 2nd Ser. 166 Why were they not engaged at one of the patent theatres? c 1844 C. Gore in M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. (1973) III. 16 The disproportion and caricature established into the custom of the stage by the exigencies of our colossal patent theatres. 1845 Disraeli Sybil iv. ii, Lord Deloraine..held a good patent place which had been conferred on his descendants by the old chancellor. 1891 Daily News 23 Feb. 3/2 The three great patent houses—Her Majesty's, Drury Lane, and Covent Garden—which enjoy the proud privilege of opening their doors without seeking the permission of the Lord Chamberlain. 1897 L. Edmunds Law Letters patent 18 The subject of a patent privilege. 1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 24 Nov. 888/3 In 1832, however, the fashion [of stalls] spread at last to the patent houses. 1973 M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. III. 1 Social and political change, the enlarging of the patent theatres, the broadening and inevitable coarsening of audience tastes—all this brought with it a demand for a new kind of comedy. 1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 19 Oct. 1272/2 During the period 1740–80 there were only two patent theatres in London: Drury Lane and Covent Garden. Unlicensed theatres were confined to musical performances, and dubiously legal public ‘rehearsals’ of plays. |
† b. joint patent or
joined patent: sharing by letters patent in some privilege or office:
cf. patent n. 1,
quot. 1450. Also
fig. Obs.| 1552 Huloet, Ioynt patent with another, as where, ii. men haue one office ioyntly, duumuir. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia ii. (1622) 207 So incredibly blinded..that hee could thinke such a Queene [Artaxia] would be content to be ioyned-patent with another [Erona] to haue such an husband. 1608 D. T[uvil] Ess. Pol. & Mor. 37 Where Prayse and Honour haue been ioyn'd patent with Exercise. |
3. a. Of an invention: Protected or covered by letters patent; appropriated by letters patent to one or more persons for manufacture, use, or sale. Freq. in collocations (in some cases, of inventions formerly patented, for which the patent has expired):
patent food, a proprietary food preparation;
patent fuel (
quot. 1894);
patent insides,
patent outsides (see
quot. 1970);
patent leather (see
leather n. 1); also
ellipt., a patent leather boot or shoe; also
fig.;
patent log, a mechanical device for measuring the speed of a ship;
patent medicine, a proprietary medicine manufactured under patent;
patent sail, an automatically controlled windmill sail (see
quots.);
patent still [patented by Aeneas Coffey in 1830], a type of still for the continuous production of alcohol of greater strength and purity than is obtainable in a pot still, steam being used to heat the wash directly and carry off the alcoholic vapour;
freq. attrib.| 1824 Byron Juan xvi. xxvi, He read an article the king attacking, And a long eulogy of ‘Patent Blacking’. |
| 1707 Mortimer Husb. I. ix. 124 Madder..in King Charles the First's time..was made a Patent Commodity. |
| 1871 London Jrnl. Apr. (Advt.), Dr. Ridge's patent food. 1903 ‘A. McNeill’ Egregious English 56 Mammas..who suckle their children out of patent-food tins. 1925 Scribner's Mag. Sept. 274/2 Even the ‘quick lunch’ takes time, so a widely advertised patent food is put up in tablet form, to be eaten at the business desk itself. 1929 Galsworthy Exiled ii. 66, I have recently had to make a series of pictures for a patent food called Vital. 1964 M. Laski in S. Nowell-Smith Edwardian England iv. 205 The richer parents..were more likely to feed the infant on one of the many patent foods. |
| 1894 Patent Specification No. 13299. 1 By patent fuel we mean..any kind of small coals, or any mixture of various kinds thereof..moulded or compressed into blocks or briquettes of various shapes and sizes. |
| 1900 Daily News 5 Nov. 7/1 Thousands of country weekly papers fill up their pages by what are known as ‘patent insides’. |
| 1882 I. M. Rittenhouse Jrnl. 8 June in Maud (1939) 103 The funny places in all the old patent-insides of newspapers talk about the sweet girl graduate. 1931 Sat. Even. Post 28 Feb. 129/2 Some publishers bought patent insides, which were the interior pages of the newspaper ready printed for use. 1968 E. Russenholt Heart of Continent iv. xiii. 243 The ‘St. James Leader’..is an 8-page weekly (including ‘patent insides’). 1970 R. K. Kent Lang. Journalism 98 Patent insides (or outsides), features or other syndicated material that come to a newspaper already printed on inside (or first and last) pages; readyprint pages. |
| 1829 Poulson's Amer. Daily Advertiser (Philad.) 25 Apr. 3/5 Just received, an extensive assortment of Japanned Patent Leather, of superior quality. 1846 A. J. H. Duganne Daguerreotype Miniature 7 A pair of patent-leather boots and a Polka hat were the extremes of his apparel. 1849 G. G. Foster New York in Slices 64 Our young gentlemen..thus preserve their patent-leathers. 1852 C. Morfit Tanning & Currying (1853) 453 Glazed or Varnished Leather..known in commerce as patent leather, is very largely used for dress boots and shoes. 1882 Encycl. Brit. XIV. 387/2 Patent or Enamelled Leather.—Leather finished with a brilliant, smooth, and glossy surface, used for dress boots and shoes,..is known under a variety of names, as lacquered, varnished, japanned, and enamelled leather, &c. 1890 O. Wilde Pict. Dorian Gray i, in Lippincott's Monthly Mag. July 8 Lord Henry..tapped the toe of his patent-leather boot. 1905 H. A. Vachell Hill ii. 29 He had to varnish Grieve's patent-leathers for Sunday. 1910 J. W. Tompkins Mothers & Fathers 356 [He was] humbly removing the overshoes that covered Mr. Hammond's patent leathers. 1955 [see lair n.4]. 1976 Botham & Donnelly Valentino iv. 35 Rodolpho reached up a hand to pat his patent leather hair into place. |
| 1876 Patent log [see log n.1 6]. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 509/1 The modern patent (or taffrail) log mechanically indicates the rate of travel by means of a submerged fly or rotator, whose revolutions are conveyed to a register on the rail of the vessel by a braided hemp line secured to the rotator. 1961 F. H. Burgess Dict. Sailing 157 Patent log, a mechanical device with which a rotator is used, to work a dial indicating the distance run through the water. |
| 1770 Essex Gaz. (Salem, Mass.) 17 Apr. 4/4 To be sold by Benjamin Eaton..in Marblehead..a collection of genuine patent medicines. 1799 Europ. Mag. XXXVI. 179 The venders of patent or quack medicines. 1830 Scott Lett. Demonology v. 144 The proprietor of a patent medicine, who should in those days have attested his having wrought such miracles as we see sometimes advertised. 1866 ‘Mark Twain’ Speeches (1923) 7 It is said by some..that Kanakas won't lie, but I know they will lie..lie like patent-medicine advertisements. 1887 Spectator 24 Sept. 1283 No greater proof of credulity than the belief in patent medicines. 1888 G. B. Shaw Let. 20 Sept. (1965) I. 198 Nearly all the citizens..buy immense quantities of charms called patent medicines. 1901 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 63/1 Soaps, patent medicines, chocolates..are the things most advertised. 1914 Rep. Sel. Comm. Patent Medicines p. xii, in Parl. Papers IX, Patent and proprietary medicines differ very widely in character. At one end of the scale is the valuable scientific preparation; at the other end is the mere vulgar swindle. 1961 Today's Health Feb. 30/2 The medical device pirate of today, of course, is a far more sophisticated operator than his predecessor of yesteryear—the gallus-snapping hawker of snake oil and other patent medicines. 1978 P. Bailey Leisure & Class in Victorian Eng. i. 15 Street preachers, stump orators and patent medicine salesmen. |
| 1871 Lancaster Intelligencer 3 Apr., The editor who surrenders control of one-half of his paper to some manufacturer of patent-outsides, may make a slight reduction in his current expenses, but in the end he will lose both money and influence. 1890 Boston Jrnl. 7 Mar. 4/5 He was running his patent outsides for country newspapers. 1970 Patent outsides [see patent insides above]. |
| 1945 Archit. Rev. XCVIII. 72/2 In 1807 Sir William Cubitt invented what has ever since been called ‘patent sail’. 1968 J. Arnold Shell Bk. Country Crafts 170 This was the patent sail and enabled adjustment to the wind to be made without interrupting the milling. 1973 J. Vince Discovering Windmills (ed. 3) 21 The most significant improvement in sail design came about in 1807 when William Cubbit [sic] invented his patent sail. This retained Meikle's shutters, but they were controlled automatically by a weight suspended outside the mill. |
| 1887 A. Barnard Whisky Distilleries of U.K. 12 Blenders without number can be found who will strenuously affirm that to give the public a moderate priced article with sufficient age, there is no way but to use good old Patent Still Grain Spirit as a basis. Ibid. (Advt.), Flemming, Bennet & McLaren... Makers of Fire Stills, Steam Stills, Coffey's Patent Stills,..&c. 1906 Daily Chron. 27 Feb. 1/7 The North London magistrate held that patent-still spirit was not whisky. 1934 J. I. Davis Beginner's Guide Wines & Spirits viii. 85 Irish Whisky is always ‘pot-stilled’... Some Scotch Whisky is so made, but most of it is manufactured in a patent still, which completes the distillation in one operation. 1937 Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) I. 178/1 The spirit produced in these ‘patent stills’..has been used only to a limited extent for the production of spirit for whisky blending... The great bulk goes into industry for use as a raw material or as a technical solvent. 1968 I. C. Taylor Highland Whisky (An Comunn Gaidhealach) 3 The practice of blending pot-still and patent-still whiskies began about 1860. |
| 1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen (1809) 34 Provide yourself with a pair of patent stirrups. |
b. fig. and
transf. To which one has a proprietary claim; also, special for its purpose; sovereign, superlative.
| 1797 Nelson in Nicolas Lett. II. 346 There is a saying in the fleet too flattering for me to omit telling—viz. ‘Nelson's Patent Bridge for boarding First Rates’, alluding to my passing over an enemy's 80-gun ship. 1807–8 Syd. Smith Plymley's Lett. II. 80 That patent Christianity which has been for some time manufacturing at Clapham. 1819 Crabbe T. of Hall iii. 94 He claims a right on all things to decide; A kind of patent-wisdom. 1838 Dickens Pickw. xxxviii, Put your hand into the cupboard, and bring out the patent digester [a black bottle half full of brandy]. |
II. 4. Open as a door, gate, or aperture, so as to allow free passage.
| 1563 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 240 Sall mak the house of the Armytage patent at all tymes to hir Hienes. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 16 [He] gave command how oft scho pleissit to haue entres to the castell that it sould be patent. 1584 Aberdeen Regr. (1848) II. 52 At the quhilk patent portis thair sall be ane daylie wache. 1639 in Spalding Troub. Chas. I (Spald. Cl.) II. 36 How muche he is obliged to respect and give a patent eir heirefter to there farder grievances. 1733 Cheyne Eng. Malady ii. xi. §3. 231 Throwing them [the fluids] off by the safest and most patent Outlets. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 5 Oct. 4/2 One extremity of the tube is sealed, the other end is patent. |
5. Open as to situation; not shut in; unenclosed; of unobstructed access; freely accessible. Now
rare.
| 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 61 And also for the patente magnitude felethe by more efficacite the strenȝhte of þe moone then a see coartate. Ibid. 179 [Constantinople] Whiche is patente on euery syde to men saylenge from Asia and Europa, compassede alle moste with the grete see. 1566 Acts & Constit. Scotl. To Rdr. {cross}iij, The Romanis..had thair statutis..writtin in Tabillis, and fixit in the maist publique and patent placis. 1839 Bailey Festus xix. (1852) 285 A circular temple, patent to the sun. 1867 Carlyle Remin. ii. 137 Nith valley lay patent to the S. |
6. Spreading, expanded;
spec. † a. Her. Applied (in early works) to a cross having expanded extremities;
= pattée.
Obs.| 1486 Bk. St. Albans, Her. C ij b, An oder cros..straythyr in the myddis then in thenddys with opyn corneris..hit is calde a cros patent. And ye shall say..He berith Sable a cros paty of Siluer. Ibid. C iv, Hit is calde a cros flurri patent for he hath his endis opyn. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry ii. vii. 68 This is called a Crosse Patee..because the ends are broad and patent. |
b. Bot. Spreading, opening wide, as petals; diverging widely from the axis, as branches or leaves;
= open a. 6.
Zool. Patulous; having a wide aperture, or a shallow cavity.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Leaf, Patent Leaf, one which stands almost strait out from the stalk, or nearly at right angles with it. 1819 Crabbe T. of Hall ix. 288 Long were the learned words, and urged with force, Panduriform, pinnatifid, premorse, Latent, and patent, papulous and plane. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 178 Branches of cyme patent or reflexed after flowering. |
7. Open to view, exposed to sight; hence, exposed to the mental view; clear, plain, evident, manifest, obvious;
= open a. 5, 12.
| 1508 in Ripon Ch. Acts (Surtees) 330 Stone, with a scriptor to be paytent uppon the same. 1528 St. Papers Hen. VIII, IV. 538 Yat ye King oure broyeris gude mynd may be maid patent to oure derrest son. 1639 N. N. tr. Du Bosq's Compl. Woman i. C iij, That which is patent even to our senses, cannot be proved but very hardly with the force of our reason. 1857 H. Miller Test. Rocks iii. 136 The geologic evidence is so complete as to be patent to all. 1874 Blackie Self-Cult. 39 A patent fact, as certain as anything in mathematics. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. I. v. 56 The disadvantages of the American plan are patent. |
8. Open to general knowledge or use; generally accessible or available for use; public.
| 1566 Acts & Constit. Scotl. To Rdr. {cross}iij, To cause publis and make patent the Lawis. 1602 Warner Alb. Eng. xii. lxx. (1612) 294 For Guinie, in her highnesse raigne acquir'd and patent made. 1834 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. (1852) 474 The Colleges would be equally patent to such dissenters as were not averse from their observances. 1838 ― in Reid's Wks. II. 683 note, The greater number of those [works] now extant were preserved and patent during the two centuries and a half intervening between the death of Aristotle and their pretended publication by Tyrannion. |
9. Comb., as
patent-winged (
cf. 6 b), having wings spreading widely apart.
| 1752 J. Hill Hist. Anim. 79 The patent-winged Phalaena. |
Add:
[II.] [7.] b. Med. and
Vet. Sci. Of a parasitic infection or a period in its development: characterized by the production in the host of reproductive forms of the parasite (
orig., ones that could be detected microscopically).
| 1926 Q. Rev. Biol. I. 399/2 The Patent Period covers the interval during which the parasites can be demonstrated by microscopical technique. 1944 Jrnl. Infectious Dis. LXXV. 195/1 Treatment was begun on the third day of the patent parasitemia. 1971 Jrnl. Parasitol. LVII. 1151/1 Lambs, reared free of helminths, and 4 months old at the time of inoculation, were used as the source of nematode eggs during different periods of patent infections. 1987 Ibid. LXXIII. 931/2 Two additional animals, monkeys SS-68 and SS-61, developed patent parasitemias with prepatent periods of 13 and 18 days following inoculation of 100,000 sporozoites each. |
▪ II. ˈpatent, n. (see
prec.)
Forms: see
prec. [orig. short for letter(s) patent: see prec. So F. patente (for lettre patente), med. (Anglo-)L. patens (1367 in Du Cange), It., Sp. patente.] 1. a. A document conferring some privilege, right, office, etc.;
= letters patent: see
patent a. 1.
| [1347 Rolls of Parlt. II. 169/2 Que les poveres..approchent au Tresorer, & monstrent lour Patentes & Obligations.] c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxv. (Julian) 160 Þare-one gaf þame his patent [L. scripsit] þat quha-euir ware traweland by þat sted..þai suld helpe þame. 1399 Rolls of Parlt. III. 452 That all the Patentes and Charters that they, & any of hem hath..be ȝolden uppe into the Chauncellerie. 1423 Ibid. IV. 256/1 The Officers made by his patentes roialx. 1429 in Heath Grocers' Comp. (1869) 60 Alsoe for y⊇ seale of owre greate patente {pstlg}8 5 0. 1450 Paston Lett. I. 129 As for the Duche on this side Trent, Sir Thomas Tudenham had a joynte patent with the Duke of Suffolk. 1451 Rolls of Parlt. V. 221/1 The annuell xx marcs graunted..in theire Patentes of their creation. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 1245/1 The kings patent, or open writ, or commandement, vnder the seale of Edward the kings eldest son. 1589 Pasquil's Ret. D iij, I meane to be Clarke of their Audit.., my Paten is already sealed. 1695 Sibbald Autobiog. (1834) 132, I..was examined..and gott my patent of Doctor ther. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) I. 270 They thought fit to take out a patent, which constituted them a body, by the name of the Royal Society. 1821 J. Marshall Const. Opin. (1839) 243 The grant by a state of a patent of nobility. 1896 Law Times C. 357/1 An outgoing Irish Attorney-General received a patent of precedence entitling him to take work at the bar immediately after the Law Officers of the Crown. |
† b. A papal licence or indulgence:
= indulgence 3.
Obs.| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. vii. 194, I sette ȝowre patentes and ȝowre pardounz at one pies hele! Ibid. xiv. 191 Ac þe perchemyn of þis patent of pouerte be moste. c 1386 Chaucer Pard. Prol. 9 Thanne my bulles shewe I alle and some Oure lige lordes seel on my patente. |
† c. An official certificate or licence generally;
esp. a health certificate.
Obs.| 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 226 Euery ship had a neat Patent to shew that those places from whence they came were free from the infection. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vii. 336, I am..newly come from Ierusalem.., and loe there is my Patent. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 37 It being not lawfull for them, to commerce or trafficke without their patent of health, from the place whence they parted. 1666 Lond. Gaz. No. 48/1 But he..immediately departed..with⁓out Patent..and is gone Westwards. |
2. A licence to manufacture, sell, or deal in an article or commodity, to the exclusion of other persons; in modern times, a grant from a government to a person or persons conferring for a certain definite time the exclusive privilege of making, using, or selling some new invention.
| c 1588 G. Longe in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. III. 157 Dollyne and Carye obtained the Patent for making of Glass in England in September the ix{supt}{suph} yeare [1566–7] of the Queene's Majesties raigne for xxj. years ensueinge..which Patent was fully expired a yeare ago. 1597 in D'Ewes Jrnls. 573 Abuses practised by Monopolies and Patents of priviledge. 1656 W. D. tr. Comenius' Gate Lat. Unl. § 799 The community..is never well provided for, if monopolies or patents bee permitted. 1701 J. Peter Truth 23 This Invention being limited by the Patent, to the Patentee, or his Assigns. 1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsem. i. (1809) 69, I shall be able to get a patent for it, which cannot but prove very lucrative. 1800 M. Edgeworth Will v, He advises me to take out a patent for the dye. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 618 The term of the patent being now expired, many other manufactories of this cement have been established. 1876 Rogers Pol. Econ. xvii. (ed. 3) 226 The law protects inventors and authors by patents and copy⁓right. 1897 L. Edmunds Law of Letters patent 2 In consequence of the very numerous grants of patents for inventions, the word ‘patent’ has, in common parlance, come to suggest a patent for an invention only. |
3. a. A process or invention which has been patented, or for which a patent has been taken out.
| 1862 Illustr. Catal. Exhib. I. Class viii. 8 The great distinctive feature of this Company's patent. 1867 J. Hatton Tallants of B. i, He secured shares in several important patents. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 90/2 The word patent is taken to signify either the letters patent by which the monopoly is granted, or the subject-matter of the grant. |
b. Elliptically for some patent commodity the name of which is understood from the context.
| 1888 J. Inglis Tent Life in Tigerland 26 A handsome ivory-handled Thomas's patent lying on the table... It carries a heavy bullet. 1898 Daily News 5 Apr. 9/5 An improved demand prevailed for flour... In American brands, patents ruled at 31s. to 31s. 6d. 1904 Daily Chron. 10 Mar. 4/5, I say..it's rather rash to do gardening in patents, isn't it? |
4. A territory, district, or piece of land conferred by letters patent.
U.S.| 1632 in Winthrop Hist. New Eng. (1853) I. 93 note, [Stephen Batchelor was, at a court, 3 October, 1632] required to for⁓bear exercising his gifts as a pastor or teacher publicly in our patent. 1634 W. Wood New Eng. Prosp. i. i, It is not my intent to wander far from our Patent. 1823 F. Cooper Pioneers viii, This term, Patent..meant the district of country that had been originally granted to old Major Effingham, by the ‘King's letters patent’. |
5. fig. A sign or token that one is entitled to something; authority or commission to do something; leave or title to possess something.
| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 80 So will I grow, so liue, so die my lord, Ere I will yeeld my virgin Patent vp Vnto his Lordship. 1604 ― Oth. iv. i. 209 Giue her pattent to offend, for if it touch not you, it comes neere no body. 1645 G. Daniel Poems (Grosart) II. 34 Nature's Patent, Stampt with Heaven's Great Seale. 1836 H. Rogers J. Howe x. (1863) 273 Dr. Crisp had a patent for nonsense and vulgarity, which defied successful imitation. 1874 Mrs. Oliphant Rose in June i, That hand was in itself a patent of gentility. |
6. attrib. and
Comb., as
patent age,
patent agent,
patent-infringer,
patent law,
patent-monger,
patent solicitor;
patent office, an office from which patents are issued and where the claims to patents are examined;
patent-right, the exclusive right conferred by letters patent;
patent-roll, a parchment roll containing the letters patent issued in Great Britain (or formerly in England) in any one year: see
quot. 1888.
| 1819 Byron Juan i. cxxxii, This is the *patent-age of new inventions For killing bodies, and for saving souls. |
| 1860 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 3) 310 *Patent Agent, one who procures patents for inventors. 1884 List of Subscribers (London & Globe Telephone Co.), Haseltine, Lake & Co...Patent Agents. 1957 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 371/1 Patents are usually, although not necessarily, obtained through the intervention of ‘patent agents’. 1959 Digest of Patent & Other Cases (Patent Office) II. 778 A person who lodges and signs a complete specification as Agent for Applicant does not thereby describe himself as a Patent Agent. |
| 1901 Westm. Gaz. 28 June 11/1 To prevent cutting by wicked *patent infringers and others. |
| 1832 Babbage Econ. Manuf. Introd. (ed. 3) 8 The important subject of the *Patent-laws. |
| 1803 Poet. Petit. agst. Tractorising Trumpery 49 While a spruce young *patent-monger Contrives to wheedle simple ninnies. 1882 W. H. Preece in Standard 29 Aug. 2/4 It had checked the rapacity of Company promoters and patent-mongers. |
| 1696 Lond. Gaz. No. 3248/4 The *Patent Office is removed from Symond's Inn to Sir Richard Pigott's House. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit. vii. 129 The patent-office, where are the models from which every hint is taken. |
| 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 651 The principle upon which his *patent-right is founded. 1860 Bartlett Dict. Amer. (ed. 3) s.v., In the United States an inventor takes out a ‘patent right’; in England, ‘letters patent’. |
| 1700 Tyrrell Hist. Eng. II. 802 The *Patent-Rolls of this Year. 1888 W. Rye Rec. & Rec.-searching xiii. 98 The Patent Rolls extend from 3 John (1201), and contain innumerable grants of offices and lands, fairs and markets, confirmations, licenses to crenellate or fortify, licenses for the election of bishops, abbots, &c., creations of peers, pensions, &c., and of later years the patents for inventions. |
Add:
[3.] [b.] esp. patent leather shoes. (Later example.)
| 1973 T. Pynchon Gravity's Rainbow i. 64 Red, the shoeshine boy who's slicked up Slothrop's black patents a dozen times. |
c. = patent leather s.v. patent a. 3 a. Also
attrib.| 1902 F. Y. Golding Manuf. Boots & Shoes vi. 228 Patent should be free from flaws. 1930 R. Campbell Adamastor 57 O patent soul, asbestos body, And brain of unassembled parts. 1953 H. E. Bates Nature of Love 66 A pair of black patent shoes with oval buckles. 1974 Country Life 21 Mar. 687/3 Toes are softer... Patent is important again. |
▪ III. patent, v. (
ˈpeɪtənt,
ˈpæt-)
[f. patent n. and a.] 1. trans. To grant a patent to; to admit to some privilege or rank by letters patent. Now
rare.
| 1789 J. Morse Amer. Geogr. 261 They..patented away to their particular favorites, a very great proportion of the whole province. 1828–32 Webster, Patent, to grant by patent. To secure the exclusive right of a thing to a person; as, to patent an invention..to the author. 1831 J. Holland Manuf. Metal I. 186 An oval link with a stay in it..had..been before patented to captain Brown. 1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants iii. 319 The Military Bounty Tract..was set apart by Congress and patented for soldiers who served in the last war. 1881 G. W. Cable Mme. Delphine ii. 10 They would have been patented as the dukes of Little Manchac and Barrataria. |
2. a. To take out or obtain a patent for; to obtain by letters patent the sole right to produce and sell.
| 1822 Technical Repository II. 214 He patented many different modes of carrying his invention into effect. 1876 R. Routledge Discov. 14, 20 years before, Watt had patented—but had not constructed—a locomotive engine. |
b. fig. To originate and be proprietor of. (
famil.)
| 1900 Academy 21 July 49/1 A tendency..to fall into a style patented by Ouida. |
3. To obtain a patent right to land.
Amer.| 1675 Calendar Virginia State Papers (1875) I. 8 Major Lawrence Smith..did patent foure thousand six hundred acres of land. 1815 D. Drake Nat. View Cincinnati i. 51 The following is the course pursued in locating and patenting these lands. 1874 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 519 Several lodes are held in common, and are so situated that they may be patented in common or worked in common. 1883 American VI. 19 Another very large quantity [of public land] has been voted to the railroads, and, although much of it is not yet patented, it is open to their claims as fast as they construct their roads. |
4. [from
patent a. 7.] To make patent or open to sight or notice.
rare—1.
| 1889 Chamb. Jrnl. 2 Feb. 66/1 The charming fair one has unwillingly patented upon the snow the hideous fact that she wears high-heeled boots. |
5. Metallurgy. To subject to the process of ‘patenting’ (see
patenting vbl. n. b).
| 1922 J. W. Urquhart Steel Thermal Treatment xi. 271 The process known as ‘patenting’ wire is of recent origin. 1932 Barr & Honeyman Steel xix. 102 The rods require to be patented once only. |
Hence
ˈpatented ppl. a.| 1837 Penny Cycl. VIII. 98 The patented invention of Arkwright. 1868 Daily News 2 Nov., His excessive anxiety to anticipate the free decision of the colonies by occupying them with a staff of patented bishops. 1891 J. B. Smith Wire i. 60 ‘Patented or improved steel wire’ implies that which has been treated by a patented or special ‘improving process’ of annealing, hardening, and tempering. 1916 D. K. Bullens Steel & its Heat Treatment xvii. 402 The high strength and toughness of patented wire are due to its carbon condition and its peculiar structure. 1956 A. K. Osborne Encycl. Iron & Steel Industry 307/2 Best patented steel wire is wire intended for the production of steel cables which has been drawn to a maximum stress of between 80 to 90 tons per sq. in. |
▪ IV. patent obs. f. paten,
patten;
erron. form of
potent, staff.