Where does “patent” come from?

patent (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Anglo-Norman French lettre patente, from Latin littera patens — open letter.

patent (Norwegian Bokmål): patent

Definitions

  1. patent

Ancestry of “patent”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-Norman Frenchlettre patente—
2Latinlittera patensopen letter
Every word from Latin littera patens →Every word from Anglo-Norman French lettre patente →