Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

letters patent

/ˌlɛtɚz ˈpætənt/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.06 in modern English

Syllables
let-ters pat-ent
IPA
/ˌlɛtɚz ˈpætənt/
15
Scrabble Score
13
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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; to record a contract.

noun

plural of letter patent

Etymology

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”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˌlɛtɚz ˈpætənt/
  • British English: /ˌlɛtəz ˈpeɪtənt/

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Law.

Inflected Forms

letter patent (alternative)

Synonyms

patent

Antonyms

letters close

Rhymes With

patent blatant latent

Questions

How do you pronounce letters patent?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˌlɛtɚz ˈpætənt/.
What does letters patent mean?
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; to record a contract.
Where does letters patent come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce letters patent

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “letters patent”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌlɛtɚz ˈpætənt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “letters patent”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “letters patent” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.