Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: French
Origin: Latin, present participle of patere 'to be open'

patent

2 adjective
     
Related topics: Law
patent2 [only before noun]
1SCL protected by a patent:
a patent lock
2

patent lie/nonsense/impossibility etc

formal used to emphasize that something is clearly a lie etc [= obvious]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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