letters patent
English edit
Etymology edit
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],[1] from Anglo-Norman lettres patentes (the plural of lettre patente), from Latin litterae patentēs,[2] 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”).
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌlɛtəz ˈpeɪtənt/, (slightly less common) /-ˈpæ-/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌlɛtɚz ˈpætənt/, (rare) /-ˈpeɪ-/, [ˌlɛɾɚz ˈpæɾənt]
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪtənt, -ætənt
- Hyphenation: let‧ters pat‧ent
Noun edit
letters patent pl (plural only)
- (law) A type of legal document in the form of an open letter issued by an authority to direct that some action be taken; to grant a monopoly, right, status, or title to a person or organization; or to record a contract.
- Antonym: letters close
- Hypernym: open letter
Usage notes edit
The term is typically used in the plural form, even for a single document.
Alternative forms edit
- letter patent (rare)
Translations edit
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Noun edit
References edit
- ^ “lettre(s [patent(e]” under “patent(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
- ^ “letters patent, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
Further reading edit
- letters patent on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- “letters patent, n.” under “patent, adj.”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023.