letters patent

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• Received-Pronunciation: /ˌlɛtəz ˈpeɪtənt/
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• Received-Pronunciation: /-ˈpæ-/ slightly less common
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• General-American: /ˌlɛtɚz ˈpætənt/
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• General-American, rare: /-ˈpeɪ-/
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• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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• rhymes with -eɪtənt
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• rhymes with -ætənt
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From letters patents (archaic), from Late Middle English lettres patentes, lettres patent (“document or documents granting a privilege, power, or right, making an appointment or decree, etc.”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman lettres patentes (the plural of lettre patente), from Latin litterae patentēs, the plural of littera patēns (so called because they were written on open sheets of parchment), from littera (“letter”) + patēns (“accessible, open”) (the present active participle of pateō (“to be accessible or open; to be clear or evident”), from Proto-Indo-European *peth2- (“to spread out; to fly”)). The English term is analysable as letters + patent (“open, unconcealed; (archaic) open to public perusal”).

40 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Afrikaans: patentbrief — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Arabic: براءة تمليك — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Catalan: carta patent — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Chinese Mandarin: 專利特許證 /专利特许证 (zhuānlì tèxǔzhèng) — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Dutch: octrooi — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Dutch: wapendiploma — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Finnish: patentti — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Finnish: patenttikirja — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Finnish: lupakirja — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Finnish: valtakirja — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• French: lettres patentes — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• German: Patent — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• German: Patentschrift — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• German: Patenturkunde — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Hebrew: מכתב הרשאה — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Hungarian: pátens — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Hungarian: kiváltságlevél — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Hungarian: nemeslevél — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Indonesian: surat paten — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Italian: lettere patenti — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Japanese: 勅許状 (chokkyo-jō) — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Japanese: 開封特許状 (kaifū tokkyo-jō) — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Japanese: 特許状 (tokkyo-jō) — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Latin: litterae patentēs — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Macedonian: па́тентна по́тврда (pátentna pótvrda) — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Malay: surat paten — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Middle English: lettres patentes — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Middle English: patent — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Persian: فرمان علنی — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Polish: patent — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Portuguese: carta-patente — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Russian: патентная гра́мота (patentnaja grámota) — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Spanish: patente de privilegio — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Spanish: cédula de privilegio — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Swedish: kungligt brev — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Telugu: నామా (nāmā) — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Turkish: patent — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Turkish: berat — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Turkish: imtiyazname — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority
• Ottoman Turkish: برات (berât) — type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority