patent

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
patent /ˈpat(ə)nt, ˈpeɪt-/

▶noun a government licence to an individual or body conferring a right or title for a set period, especially the sole right to make, use, or sell an invention. ▶adjective /ˈpeɪt(ə)nt/ 

• 1 easily recognizable; obvious.

• 2 made and marketed under a patent.

• 3 Medicine (of a duct or aperture) open and unobstructed.

  ■ (of a parasitic infection) showing detectable parasites in the tissues or faeces.

▶verb obtain a patent for (an invention).

– derivatives
patency noun,
patentable adjective.

– origin ME: from OFr., from L. patent-, patere ‘lie open’; cf. letters patent.