different between clear vs patent

English

Alternative forms

• CLR (contraction used in electronics)

Etymology

From Middle English clere, from Anglo-Norman cler, from Old French cler (Modern French clair), from Latin clarus. Displaced native Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English sc?r (“clear, bright”)), Middle English skere (“clear, sheer”) (from Old English sc?re and Old Norse sk?r (“sheer, clear, pure”)), Middle English smolt (“clear (of mind), serene”) (from Old English smolt (“peaceful, serene”)). Cognate with Danish klar, Dutch klaar, French clair, German klar, Italian chiaro, Norwegian klar, Portuguese claro, Romanian clar, Spanish claro, and Swedish klar.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kl??(?)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /kl??/
• Rhymes: -??(r)

Adjective

clear (comparative clearer, superlative clearest)

1. Transparent in colour.

2. Bright, not dark or obscured.

3. Free of obstacles.
4. Without clouds.

   • Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes. The clear light of the bright autumn morning had no terrors for youth and health like hers.

5. (meteorology) Of the sky, such that less than one eighth of its area is obscured by clouds.
6. Free of ambiguity or doubt.
7. Distinct, sharp, well-marked.

   Synonym: conspicuous

8. (figuratively) Free of guilt, or suspicion.
9. (of a soup) Without a thickening ingredient.
10. Possessing little or no perceptible stimulus.

11. (Scientology) Free from the influence of engrams; see Clear (Scientology).
    • 1971, Leonard Cohen, "Famous Blue Raincoat":

      Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair. She said that you gave it to her that night that you planned to go clear. Did you ever go clear?

12. Able to perceive clearly; keen; acute; penetrating; discriminating.
13. Not clouded with passion; serene; cheerful.

    • with a countenance as clear / As friendship wears at feasts

14. Easily or distinctly heard; audible.
    • c. 1708, Alexander Pope “Ode On St. Cecilia's Day”:

      Hark! the numbers, soft and clear / Gently steal upon the ear

15. Unmixed; entirely pure.

16. Without defects or blemishes, such as freckles or knots.
17. Without diminution; in full; net.
    • 1728, Jonathan Swift “Horace, Lib. 2, Sat. 6”:

      I often wished that I had clear / For life, six hundred pounds a year

Synonyms

• (transparency): pellucid, transparent; See also Thesaurus:transparent
• (free of ambiguity or doubt): See also Thesaurus:comprehensible of Thesaurus:explicit
• (distinct): See also Thesaurus:distinct
• (easily or distinctly heard): See also Thesaurus:audible
• (unmixed): homogeneous

Antonyms

• (transparency): opaque, turbid
• (bright): See also Thesaurus:dark
• (without clouds): cloudy, nebulous; See also Thesaurus:nebulous
• (free of ambiguity or doubt): See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible and Thesaurus:confusing
• (of a soup): thick
• obscure

Hyponyms

• crystal clear

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Adverb

clear (not comparable)

1. All the way; entirely.

   I threw it clear across the river to the other side.

2. Not near something or touching it.

   Stand clear of the rails, a train is coming.

3. free (or separate) from others
4. (obsolete) In a clear manner; plainly.

Translations

Verb

clear (third-person singular simple present clears, present participle clearing, simple past and past participle cleared)

1. (transitive) To remove obstructions, impediments or other unwanted items from.

   Police took two hours to clear the road.

   If you clear the table, I'll wash up.

   • “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, […].

   • 1715–8, Matthew Prior, “Alma: or, The Progre?s of the Mind” in Poems on Several Occa?ions (1741), canto III, p.297:

     Faith, Dick, I mu?t confe?s, ?tis true // (But this is only Entre Nous) // That many knotty Points there are, // Which All di?cu?s, but Few can clear.
2. (transitive) To remove (items or material) so as to leave something unobstructed or open.

   Please clear all this stuff off the table.

   The loggers came and cleared the trees.

   • 1711 November 6, Joseph Addison, The Spectator No. 215:

     […] Aristotle has brought to explain his Doctrine of Substantial Forms, when he tells us that a Statue lies hid in a Block of Marble; and that the Art of the statuary only clears away the superfluous Matter, and removes the Rubbish.

3. (intransitive) To leave abruptly; to clear off or clear out.
4. (intransitive) To become free from obstruction or obscurement; to become transparent.

5. (transitive) To eliminate ambiguity or doubt from (a matter); to clarify or resolve; to clear up.

6. (transitive) To remove from suspicion, especially of having committed a crime.
   • 1713, Joseph Addison, Cato, a Tragedy, Act III, scene v:

     How! Wouldst thou clear rebellion?

7. (transitive) To pass without interference; to miss.

8. (transitive, activities such as jumping or throwing) To exceed a stated mark.

9. (transitive, video games) To finish or complete (a stage, challenge, or game).

   I cleared the first level in 36 seconds.

10. (intransitive) Of a check or financial transaction, to go through as payment; to be processed so that the money is transferred.

11. (transitive, business) To earn a profit of; to net.
12. (transitive) To approve or authorise for a particular purpose or action; to give clearance to.

13. (transitive) To obtain approval or authorisation in respect of.

14. (intransitive) To obtain a clearance.

15. (transitive) To obtain permission to use (a sample of copyrighted audio) in another track.
16. To disengage oneself from incumbrances, distress, or entanglements; to become free.
    • 1613, Francis Bacon, The E??aies (second edition), essay 18: “Of Expences”:

      Be?ides, he that cleares at once will relap?e: for finding him?elfe out of ?traights, he will reuert to his cu?tomes. But hee that cleareth by degrees, induceth an habite of frugality, and gaineth as well vpon his minde, as vpon his E?tate.

17. (transitive, intransitive, sports) To hit, kick, head, punch etc. (a ball, puck) away in order to defend one's goal.
18. (transitive, computing) To reset or unset; to return to an empty state or to zero.

19. (transitive, computing) To style (an element within a document) so that it is not permitted to float at a given position.

Synonyms

• (clear a forest): stub

Derived terms

• clear away
• clear off
• clear out
• clear up
• clearance
• clearing

Translations

Noun

clear (plural clears)

1. (carpentry) Full extent; distance between extreme limits; especially; the distance between the nearest surfaces of two bodies, or the space between walls.

   a room ten feet square in the clear

2. (video games) The completion of a stage or challenge, or of the whole game.

   It took me weeks to achieve a one-credit clear (1CC).

3. (Scientology) A person who is free from the influence of engrams.
   • 1985, Rodney Stark, William Sims Bainbridge, The Future of Religion (page 269)

     Today, clear status can be conferred only by high ranking ministers of the church, and clears are not presented for examination by outsiders.

References

• clear at OneLook Dictionary Search
• clear in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• 'clare, Carle, Clare, carle, lacer, recal

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?pe?t?nt/, /?pæ-/
• (General American) enPR: p?t??nt, p?t??nt, IPA^(key): /?pæt?nt/, [p?æ??n?t], /?pe?-/, [p?e??-]
• Hyphenation: pa?tent

Etymology 1

The noun is derived from Middle English patent (“document granting an office, property, right, title, etc.; document granting permission, licence; papal indulgence, pardon”) [and other forms], which is either:

• a clipping of lettre patent, lettres patente, lettres patentes [and other forms]; or
• directly from Anglo-Norman and Middle French patente (modern French patent), a clipping of Anglo-Norman lettres patentes, Middle French lettres patentes, lettre patente, and Old French patentes lettres (“document granting an office, privilege, right, etc., or making a decree”) (compare Late Latin patens, littera patens, litterae patentes).

For the derivation of Anglo-Norman and Middle French patente (adjective) in lettre patente, see etymology 2 below.

The verb is derived from the noun.

Noun

patent (countable and uncountable, plural patents)

1. (law)
   1. An official document granting an appointment, privilege, or right, or some property or title; letters patent.
   2. (specifically)
      1. (originally) A grant of a monopoly over the manufacture, sale, and use of goods.
      2. 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.
   3. (US, historical) A specific grant of ownership of a piece of real property; a land patent.
2. (by extension) A product in respect of which a patent (sense 1.2.2) has been obtained.
3. (uncountable) Short for patent leather (“a varnished, high-gloss leather typically used for accessories and shoes”).
4. (figuratively)
   1. A licence or (formal) permission to do something.
   2. A characteristic or quality that one possesses; in particular (hyperbolic) as if exclusively; a monopoly.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

patent (third-person singular simple present patents, present participle patenting, simple past and past participle patented)

1. (transitive, law)
   1. 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.
   2. (US, historical) To obtain (over a piece of real property) a specific grant of ownership.
2. (transitive, figuratively) To be closely associated or identified with (something); to monopolize.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English patent, patente (“wide open; clear, unobstructed; unlimited; of a document: available for public inspection”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Middle French patent (modern French patent), and directly from their etymon Latin pat?ns (“open; accessible, passable; evident, manifest; exposed, vulnerable”), the present active participle of pate? (“to be open; to be accessible, attainable; to be exposed, vulnerable; of frontiers or land: to extent, increase”), from Proto-Indo-European *peth?- (“to spread out; to fly”).

Adjective

patent (comparative more patent, superlative most patent)

1. Conspicuous; open; unconcealed.

   Synonym: overt

   1. (baking) Of flour: fine, and consisting mostly of the inner part of the endosperm of the grain from which it is milled.
   2. (medicine) Open, unobstructed; specifically, especially of the ductus arteriosus or foramen ovale in the heart, having not closed as would have happened in normal development.

   3. (medicine, veterinary medicine) Of an infection: in the phase when the organism causing it can be detected by clinical tests.
2. Explicit and obvious.

   Synonyms: express, monosemous, unambiguous; see also Thesaurus:explicit, Thesaurus:obvious
3. (archaic)
   1. Especially of a document conferring some privilege or right: open to public perusal or use.

   2. Appointed or conferred by letters patent.
4. (botany) Of a branch, leaf, etc.: outspread; also, spreading at right angles to the axis.
5. (law) Protected by a legal patent.

   Synonym: patented
6. (by extension, figuratively) To which someone has, or seems to have, a claim or an exclusive claim; also, inventive or particularly suited for.

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• patent on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Patten, patten, pét-nat

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /p??tent/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /p??ten/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /pa?tent/

Noun

patent m (plural patents)

1. patent

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?pat?nt]

Noun

patent m

1. patent (declaration issued by a government to an inventor)

Derived terms

• patentový

Danish

Noun

patent n (singular definite patentet, plural indefinite patenter)

1. patent

Declension

Related terms

References

• “patent” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa??t?nt/
• Hyphenation: pa?tent
• Rhymes: -?nt

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle French patente, from lettres patentes (“letter in which a privilege is granted”), from Latin litterae patentes.

Noun

patent n (plural patenten, diminutive patentje n)

1. patent [from 16th c.]

   Synonym: octrooi

Derived terms

• patentrecht

Descendants

• ? Indonesian: paten

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German patent, originating in student slang. Related to etymology 1.

Adjective

patent (comparative patenter, superlative patentst)

1. excellent, exquisite [from mid 19th c.]

   Synonyms: geweldig, voortreffelijk

Inflection

German

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

Adjective

patent (comparative patenter, superlative am patentesten)

1. clever
2. ingenious

Declension

Further reading

• “patent” in Duden online

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /?pa.tent/, [?pät??n?t?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /?pa.tent/, [?p??t??n?t?]

Verb

patent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of pate?

Middle English

Etymology 1

From a short form of lettres patentes, from Anglo-Norman lettre patente (“open letter”), from Latin littera patens.

Alternative forms

• patente, patentt

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa?t?nt/, /?pat?nt/

Noun

patent (plural patentes)

1. A letter conferring a privilege or status.
2. Such a privilege or status conferred.
3. (rare) A letter conferring other advantages.

Descendants

• English: patent (noun)

References

• “patent(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Middle French patent, from Old French, from Latin pat?ns.

Alternative forms

• patente

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa?t?nt/, /?pat?nt/

Adjective

patent

1. (rare) open, unconfined, unrestricted

Descendants

• English: patent (adjective)

References

• “patent(e, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Noun

patent

1. Alternative form of patene

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Short form of Anglo-Norman lettre patente.

Noun

patent n (definite singular patentet, indefinite plural patent or patenter, definite plural patenta or patentene)

1. patent

Related terms

• patentere

References

• “patent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Short form of Anglo-Norman lettre patente.

Noun

patent n (definite singular patentet, indefinite plural patent, definite plural patenta)

1. patent

References

• “patent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

From French patente, from Latin pat?ns.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pa.t?nt/

Noun

patent m inan

1. patent (official declaration that someone is the inventor of something)

Declension

Further reading

• patent in Wielki s?ownik j?zyka polskiego, Instytut J?zyka Polskiego PAN
• patent in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

From French patent.

Adjective

patent m or n (feminine singular patent?, masculine plural paten?i, feminine and neuter plural patente)

1. patent

Declension

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p?tent/
• Hyphenation: pa?tent

Noun

pàtent m (Cyrillic spelling ???????)

1. patent (official declaration that someone is the inventor of something)

Declension

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pa?t?nt/

Noun

patent n

1. patent

Declension

Related terms

Anagrams

• patten