Words for today

This thread is intended to post definitions of new words or words you would like to clarify that we come across in the threads or elsewhere. Please don't post more than five a day or you will overwhelm me and everyone else. Anyone may contribute words of the day if five have not already been posted that day. Please provide, also, a definition and any etymological information you can.

 

Etymology

a. OF. ethimologie, mod.F. etymologie, ad. L. etymologia, a. Gr. , f. -: see

1. a. The process of tracing out and describing the elements of a word with their modifications of form and sense.

1588 FRAUNCE Lawiers Log. I. xii. 51 Notation or Etymologie is the interpretation of the word. 1725 WATTS Logic I. iv. §1 This tracing of a word to its original, (which is called etymology), is sometimes a very precarious..thing. 1786 H. TOOKE Purley (1798) I. ix. 456 The explanation and etymology of those words..require a degree of knowledge in all the antient northern languages.
¶With explanation drawn from the Gr. derivation. (Cf. L. veriloquium, by which Cicero renders the Gr. word.)

1613 R. C. Table Alph. (ed. 3), Etymologie, true expounding. 1681 tr. Willis' Rem. Med. Wks. Voc., Etymology, the true exposition or interpretation of a thing.
b. An instance of this process; an account of the formation and radical signification of a word.

1460 J. CAPGRAVE Chron. 34 As Ysider tellith in the third book of Ethimilogies. 1575 TURBERV. Falconrie 204 So that the etymologie of the name proceedeth all upon one cause. 1611 SPEED Hist. Gt. Brit. V. ii. 8 Neither let this Etymologie of Britaines seeme to be either harsh or absurd, seeing the very words sound alike, etc. 1665 BOYLE Occas. Refl. V. i. (1675) 296 Critical Inquiries into Obsolete Rites, or Disputable Etymologies. 1755 JOHNSON Pref. Dict. Wks. IX. 201 For the Teutonick etymologies, I am commonly indebted to Junius and Skinner. 1845 STODDART in Encycl. Metrop. (1847) I. 166/1 A little investigation will show this etymology [of since] to be entirely erroneous.
c. The facts relating to the formation or derivation (of a word). (In 16-17th c. occur confused expressions such as ‘the etymology comes from,’ ‘to derive the etymology from’.)

[1398 TREVISA Barth. De P.R. III. ii. (1495) 50 What is the menynge of the Ethimolegia and the settyng of this name?] 1447 O. BOKENHAM Seyntys (Roxb.) 46 Yf we them dewly kun applye And ordenelly aftyr the ethimologye. 1581 MARBECK Bk. of Notes 276 Dagon..as maie be iudged by the Etimologie of the word, was some God of the Sea. For Dag in Hebrue signifieth a fish. 1583 FULKE Defence (1843) 267 The etymology of this English word ‘priest’ cometh from presbyter. 1631 WEEVER Anc. Fun. Mon. 683 Heralt..is meerely a Teutonic or Duytch word, and in that tongue and no other, the true Ætymologie thereof is onely to be found. 1651 HOWELL Venice 34 Som derive the Etimologie of this rare Cittie from Venetia, which is old Latin signifieth the frothing or seething of the Sea. 1666 G. HARVEY Morb. Angl. (J.), Consumption is generally taken for any universal diminution and colliquation of the body, which acceptation its etymology implies. 1725 WATTS Logic I. iv. §1 If the meaning of a word could be learned by its derivation or etymology, yet, etc. 1865 MAX MÜLLER Chips (1880) II. xxv. 260 The etymology of a word can never give us its definition.
transf. 1864 KIRK Chas. Bold I. ii. 48 Those distinctions of origin, habits, dialect, and history which constitute what may be termed the etymology of the nation.
d. Etymological sense, original meaning. Obs.

a1592 GREENE Jas. IV, I. ii, Ateu. What's thy name? Nano. Nano. Ateu. The etymology of which word is a dwarf. 1631 R. BRATHWAIT Eng. Gentlew. (1641) 332 This name [widowes]..hath received one constant Etymology; ‘deprived’ or ‘destitute’. 1711-14 ADDISON Spect. (J.), Pelvis is used by comick writers for a looking-glass, by which means the etymology of the word is visible.
2. That branch of linguistic science which is concerned with determining the origin of words.

1646 SIR T. BROWNE Pseud. Ep. II. vi. 93 Others have better observed the laws of Etymology, and deduced it from a word of the same language. 1797 GODWIN Enquirer I. vi. 44 The science of etymology has been earnestly recommended. 1862 MARSH Eng. Lang. iii. 48 Etymology, is the study of the primitive, derivative, and figurative forms and meanings of words. 1864 MAX MÃœLLER Sc. Lang. Ser. II. vi. (1868) 242 As long as etymology was carried on on such principles it could not claim the name of a science.
3. Gram. That part of grammar which treats of individual words, the parts of speech separately, their formation and inflexions.

1592 WEST Symbol. §100 The rules of Grammar, touching eyther the Ætymologie or Syntaxis thereof. 1612 BRINSLEY Lud. Lit. ix. (1627) 127 For the Etymologie, all the difficulty is in these three parts of Speech, Nownes, Verbs, and Participles. 1669 MILTON Accedence Wks. (1847) 457/1 Etymology, or right wording, teacheth what belongs to every single word or part of speech. 1748 HARTLEY Observ. Man I. iii. 304 Etymology and Syntax, as Grammarians call them. 1824 L. MURRAY Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 60 The second part of grammar is etymology

 

Nerd

[Origin uncertain and disputed (see below).
Perh. < nerd, a fictional animal in the children's story If I ran the Zoo (1950) by ‘Dr. Seuss’, depicted as a small, unkempt, humanoid creature with a large head and a comically disapproving expression. Alternatively, sometimes explained as a euphemistic alteration of TURD n. (see e.g. D. L. Gold in Comments on Etymol. (1983) 12 27), although given the predominance of early spellings in -e-, this seems unlikely. The suggestion that the word is back-slang for DRUNK n. is also unsupported by the spellings, as is derivation from the name of Mortimer Snerd, a dummy used by the U.S. ventriloquist Edgar Bergen in the 1930s (see e.g. J. E. Lighter Hist. Dict. Amer. Slang (1977) s.v. Nerd).]

An insignificant, foolish, or socially inept person; a person who is boringly conventional or studious. Now also: spec. a person who pursues an unfashionable or highly technical interest with obsessive or exclusive dedication.

1951 Newsweek 8 Oct. 28 In Detroit, someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd. 1957 Sunday Mail (Glasgow) 10 Feb. 11 Nerda square. 1971 Observer 23 May 36/3 Nerds are people who don't live meaningful lives. 1983 Truck & Bus Transportation July 129/1 When loose-brained nurds crack up the top arrangements of a man o' my calibre, I got no union t' thump them nurds with. 1993 Sci. Amer. Apr. 96/1 ‘Nerd’..is movie shorthand for scientists, engineers and assorted technical types who play chess, perhaps, or the violin. 2002 Chicago Tribune 20 Jan. IV. 7/1 Among Silicon Valley nerds, chip engineers..are the geekiest of all.

 

solipsistic

1885 W. JAMES in Mind X. 37 Men who see each other's bodies sharing the same space..will never practically believe in a pluralism of solipsistic worlds. 1894 The Forum May 308 They should not be made self-centred and solipsistic at an age when altruism ought to have its golden day. 1952 A. WILSON Hemlock & After II. iii. 145 His intense, solipsistic world of personal ambition. 1958 I. MURDOCH Bell xiv. 184 But now, driven by this fit of solipsistic melancholy one degree more desperate, she felt the need of an act. 1968 A. STORR Human Aggression xi. 104 [/b]Psychopaths share with the schizophrenic the characteristic of living in a world which is predominantly solipsistic; that is, in which people and events are not valued in and for themselves, but only in so far as they affect the subject. 1971 E. SHORRIS Death of Great Spirit iv. 66 The vision of Western man{em}seeing himself in the central role{em}might have been considered solipsistic only two hundred years ago. 1977 Dædalus Summer 42 It expanded, not by conflicts and deals with equals, but by short spurts of solipsistic exuberance at the expense of much weaker neighbors.

 

Credulity

1. Belief, faith, credence; the quality of being a believer; readiness to believe. Obs.

1430-50 tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 19 To iffe feithe and credulite to the dictes of those men. 1532 MORE Confut. Tindale Wks. 579/1 The spirite of God..woorketh in man the credulitie and belief by which we..belieue the church. a1633 AUSTIN Medit. (1635) 176 Thomas his Absence and Incredulitie hath bred more faith in us, then the credulitie of them all. 1639 tr. Du Bosq's Compl. Woman II. 64 The steddiest in their credulity, may have some doubts. 1794 SULLIVAN View Nat. II. 214 We see, what motion the Scripture gives to the sun..according to the appearance of sense and of popular credulity.
2. Over-readiness to believe; disposition to believe on weak or insufficient grounds.
This sense in early instances is only contextual, and was not implicitly present before the close of the 17th c.

1547 J. HARRISON Exhort. Scottes 229 A..bayte, alluryng our simplicitie and credulitie. 1605 BP. HALL Medit. & Vows I. §82, I had rather wrong my selfe by credulity, then others by unjust censures and suspitions. 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 188 By his credulity to any tale that is told. 1665 GLANVILL Sceps. Sci. xiii. 76 An ungrounded Credulity is cry'd up for faith. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) I. 49 His ridiculous credulity in dreams, signs and prodigies. 1754 RICHARDSON Grandison IV. xviii. 142 Credulity the child of goodnature. 1866 DICKENS Lett. II. 260 A humbug, living on the credulity of the people.
b. (with pl.) An instance of credulity.

1836 LYTTON Athens (1837) II. 401 His very credulities have a philosophy of their own. a1850 ROSSETTI Dante & Circ. II. (1874) 266 The native home of all credulities and monstrosities.

 

Apicoectomy

Excision of the apical portion of the root of a tooth.

1914 Items of Interest XXXVI. 652 (heading) Apiocoectomy [sic]. 1915 Dental Cosmos LVII. 473/1 Apicoectomy.Root amputation, in the treatment of dento-alveolar abscesses, is an operation of necessity and not of choice. 1931 COLYER & SPRAWSON Dental Surg. & Pathol. (ed. 6) xiv. 397 The operation of apicectomy has been devised for the sterilisation of the apical area. 1963 C. R. COWELL et al. Inlays, Crowns & Bridges viii. 85 A radiograph may reveal evidence of a periapical condition which necessitates an apicectomy. 1982 Macmillan Guide Family Health iii. 439 (caption) Occasionally a dentist will perform an apicectomy. This is a small operation by which the infected tissue at the base of the tooth is removed.

 

Apician


Of or pertaining to epicures or to luxurious diet.
1699 EVELYN Acetaria (1729) 115 A voluptuary Apician art. Ibid. 164 Apician Tables. 1834 Penny Cycl. II. 159/1 Certain cakes, honourably distinguished by the epithet Apician.

 

Fungible


[ad. med.L. fungibilis (‘res fungibiles’ Du Cange), f. fung (with sense as in fungi vice, to take the place, fulfil the office of).
The adj. belongs to Civil Law and to the general theory of Jurisprudence; the n. is in addition a current term of the law of Scotland.]

A. adj. (See quot. 1832.)

1818 H. T. COLEBROOKE Oblig. & Contracts I. 64 In the instance of money and other fungible articles. 1832 AUSTIN Jurispr. (1879) II. xlvi. 807 When a thing which is the subject of an obligation..must be delivered in specie, the thing is not fungible, i.e. that very thing, and not another thing of the same or another class in lieu of it must be delivered. Where the subject of the obligation is a thing of a given class, the thing is said to be fungible, i.e. the delivery of any object which answers to the generic description will satisfy the terms of the obligation. 1886 Sat. Rev. 25 Dec. 853 A certain number of persons..do not..regard books as ‘fungible’, but exercise a choice as to the books they read.
B. n. A fungible thing.

a1765 ERSKINE Inst. III. i. §18 (1773) I. 418 Grain and coin are fungibles, because one guinea, or one bushel or boll of sufficient merchantable wheat, precisely supplies the place of another. 1865 M. LENNAN Prim. Marriage i. in Stud. Anc. Hist. (1887) 8 The Libripens with his scales, officiating at a will or act of adoption..illustrates the sources whence all ideas of formal dispositions were derivedthe sale of fungibles. 1874 Act 37 & 38 Vict. c. 94 §15 Casualties..paid in money or in fungibles at fixed periods or intervals. 1880 MUIRHEAD Gaius Digest 489 If he..had been guilty of immorality, he was punished by being required to restore fungibles at once.

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ADDITIONS SERIES 1993


fungible, a. and n.

Add: Hence fungibility n.; fungibly adv.

1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 253/1 Profoundly convinced of the fungibility and pliability of mankind, he [sc. Jeremy Bentham] was but too ready to draw a code for England..at the shortest notice. 1964 Federal Reporter (U.S.) CCCXXXIV. 408/1 During a segment of its journey..it becomes fungibly commingled in a common pipeline with gas destined for resale in interstate commerce. 1988 Investors Chron. 15 July 6/2 Fungibility implies being able to close in Chicago something you opened in London earlier in the day.

 

Autogolpe

A spanish word for "illegal usurpation of power". Would be very useful in English.

 

Smug

[Of doubtful origin; the form is against its being ad. LG. smuk (whence Da. smuk, Sw. smukk, G. schmuck) pretty, nice, as the change of k to g would be very irregular.]

1. Of male persons: Trim, neat, spruce, smart; in later use, having a self-satisfied, conceited, or consciously respectable air.
The word has been in very common use from the 16th cent., and the earlier sense shades imperceptibly into the later, so that quotations cannot be separated.
1551 ROBINSON tr. More's Utopia I. (1895) 11 They be so smugge and smoethe, that they haue not so much as one heare of an honest man. 1581 RICH Farew. Kj, The Duke..perceiuyng him to bee a proper smogue yong man, gaue hym entertainment. 1613 HEYWOOD Brazen Age II. iv, I was when I was borne A pretty smug knaue. 1669 PEPYS Diary 28 Mar., To the Office with Tom, who looks mighty smug upon his marriage. 1706 ESTCOURT Fair Example v. i, Thou hast a handsom smug Neighbour that I believe knows her as well. 1740 LADY M. W. MONTAGU Lett. I. 124 He is a patrician too, and a smugger gentleman than Livy or any of his heroes. 1812 BYRON Ch. Har. I. lxix, Then thy spruce citizen, wash'd artizan, And smug apprentice gulp their weekly air. 1859 THACKERAY Virgin. II. 337 A smug officer of the United States Government. 1884 SHARMAN Hist. Swearing i. 2 The..smug undertakers of the neighbouring Soho.

b. Of women or girls. (Common c 1590-1650 in the older sense of the word.)
1590 GREENE Never too late (1600) 98 Nowe Gods blessing on thy heart (quoth Callena) for louing such a smugge lasse. 1627 FELTHAM Low Count. (1677) 47 As smug as a Lady that hath newly lockt up her Colours, and laid by her Irons. 1677 OTWAY Cheats of Scapin I. i, She is indeed a good smug lass. 1701 STEELE Grief a la Mode III. i, Oh, that smug old woman! There's no enduring her affectation of youth.

2. Of the face (person, etc.): Smooth, sleek; also, in later use = sense 5.
1582 STANYHURST Æneis II. (Arb.) 59 His tayle smoog [L. lubrica] thirling, slyke breast to Titan vpheauing. 1592 LYLY Midas IV. i, Cross-gartred Swaines, & Dairie girles, With faces smug, and round as Pearles. 1593 G. HARVEY Pierce's Super. Wks. (Grosart) II. 59 A slicke forhead, a smugg countenaunce. 1648 J. BEAUMONT Psyche VI. iv, Those dangerous Sirens whose smug maiden face Is ugly mortal Treason's burnish'd Glass. 1712 STEELE Spectator No. 428 {page}1 The Instrument which is to make your Visage less horrid and your Person more smug. 1790 COWPER Odyss. xv. 404 Sleek their heads And smug their countenances. 1852 THACKERAY Esmond I. x, It was edifying to behold him, fresh shaved and with smug face, singing out ‘Amen!’ 1892 MRS. OLIPHANT Hist. Sk. Q. Anne v. (1894) 237 Jeremy Bentham, in whose smug countenance Mill divined unspoken offences.

3. Of things: Smooth, clean, neat, trim, or tidy; in later use, having an appearance suggestive of complacency or respectability.
1596 SHAKES. 1 Hen. IV, III. i. 102 The smug and Siluer Trent. 1603 DEKKER Wonderful Year Wks. (Grosart) I. 84 The skie..lookte smug and smoothe, and had not so much as a wart sticking on her face. 1620 MARKHAM Farew. Husb. II. xviii. (1668) 88 The Come..falls away and leaves the corn clean and smug of itself. 1777 F. BURNEY Early Diary, Journ., Putting on clean linnen, a tidy gown, and smug cap. 1841 DE QUINCEY Rhetoric (1860) 376 The smug and scanty draperies of his style. 1872 J. HATTON Memorial Window II. 262 To them, the smug signboards have been coffin plates.

{dag}4. Of language: Smooth, neat. Obs.
1607 T. WALKINGTON Opt. Glass 129 A smug neate stile,..vernished phrases. 1648 J. BEAUMONT Psyche XVII. clxxxviii, His soft smug words tickle your wanton ear. 1682 Annot. on Glanvill 184 That trim and smug saying.

5. Indicative of, characterized by, complacency or conscious respectability.
1851 D. JERROLD St. Giles xi. 103 Human arrogance,..in the smug belief of its own election,..looks upon its fellow..as irrevocably lost. 1859 KINGSLEY Misc. II. 102 Addressing the audience..in the most smug and self-satisfied tone. 1885 Athenæum 30 May 688 A man of smug expediency and polite compromise.

6. Comb., as smug-faced, -looking, -skinned.
1575 GASCOIGNE Herbs Wks. 173, I coulde haue brought a noble regiment Of smugskinnde Nunnes into my countrey soyle. 1630 J. TAYLOR (Water P.) Wks. II. 252/1 The fourth that entred..Was..a smugfaced furie. 1720 RAMSAY Wealth 113 Thrice lucky pimps, or smug-fac'd wanton fair. 1876 M. E. BRADDON J. Haggard's Dau. II. 2 The smug-faced deacons, in their glossy Sunday coats. 1895 ‘IAN MACLAREN’ Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush i, A trim, smug-looking teacher's house.

 

Mojo


[Origin uncertain. Perh. of African origin: cf. Gullah moco witchcraft, magic, Fula moco'o medicine man.]

I. Simple uses.

1. Magical power, voodoo, the art of casting spells; a charm or talisman used in casting such spells. More generally, esp. in recent use: a power, force, or influence of any kind (often with sexual connotations). Freq. attrib. and in to have (also get) one's mojo working (chiefly fig. and allusive).
The term features commonly in jazz and blues music.
1926 N. N. PUCKETT Folk Beliefs Southern Negro i. 19 The term mojo is often used by the Mississippi Negroes to mean ‘charms, amulets, or tricks’, as ‘to work mojo’ on a person or ‘to carry a mojo’. 1926 in M. Leadbitter & N. Slaven Blues Records (1968) 133 My Daddy's Got The Mojo, But I Got The Say-So. 1930 R. BASS in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 382/2 There are a few signs that are more or less common to all mojo-workers. 1932 ‘C. GRANT’ & ‘K. W. WILSON’ (title of song) Keep your hands off my mojo. 1960 Sunday Times 10 July 6 Muddy Waters sang about troubled love and about his ‘mojo’, a voodoo conjuration which would work on anyone but the one he wanted. 1966 Crescendo Aug. 3/2 With his weather mojo working overtime he got four hot sunny days. 1989 C. S. MURRAY Crosstown Traffic v. 112 The ‘mojo’ is another voodoo charm; an object of power which, according to legend, can be used to manipulate probability. 1994 R. SILVERBERG Hot Sky at Midnight 114 These are very sexually gifted women, and we who wander around looking for the solace of a little nookie are highly vulnerable to the mysterious mojo that throbs out at us from between their legs. 1996 New Yorker 15 Apr. 99/1 When the lights come up, on Floyd's wake, a landlady named Louise..keeps the blues mojo working. 1999 N.Y. Times Mag. 3 Oct. 20/2 All the televised football in the world can't compensate suburban men for their lost warrior mojo.

II. Compounds.

2. mojo hand, any means through which mojo is effected; esp. a small bag of charms.
1928 I. COX Mojo Hand Blues (song) 1 I'm going to Louisiana to get myself a *Mojo hand. Cause these back biting women are 'bout to take my man. 1952 Phylon 13 289 Mojo hands and other spells are sought to keep the wandering man at home, or to keep the marauding women away. 1982 R. PALMER Deep Blues 95 Muddy had seen plenty of mojo hands. They were little red flannel bags that smelled of oils and perfumes; some were pierced by a needle or two. 1989 G. EARLY Tuxedo Junction II. ii. 35 It is not the experience of catharsis but rather something more akin to the experience of receiving therapy or counseling (the white 1980s version of mojo hands).

 

Encomium

[a. L. encmium, ad. Gr. () eulogy.]

A formal or high-flown expression of praise; a eulogy, panegyric.

1589 PUTTENHAM Eng. Poesie I. xx. (Arb.) 58 The immortall gods were praised by hymnes, the great Princes and heroicke personages by ballades of praise called Encomia. 1613 BEAUM. & FL. Honest Man's Fort. III. i, You..Should sing encomiums on't [marriage]. 1711 STEELE Spect. No. 139. 3 If we consider this wonderful Person, it is Perplexity to know where to begin his Encomium. 1846 DICKENS Old C. Shop xxx, He brought in the bread, cheese and beer, with many high encomiums upon their excellence. 1875 JOWETT Plato (ed. 2) I. 139 Many tales, and praises, and encomia of ancient famous men.

 

Sisyphean

Of or pertaining to Sisyphus; like (that of) Sisyphus; resembling the fruitless toil of Sisyphus; endless and ineffective.
1635 QUARLES Embl. III. xv, I barter sighs for tears, and tears for grones, Still vainly rolling Sisyphean stones. 1646 G. DANIEL Poems Wks. (Grosart) I. 11 Thus I roll Sisyphean Stones, and play (Which he can never) all my time away. 1858 N. J. GANNON O'Donoghue, etc. 53 Without this magic bond no power on earth Can raise the ponderous Sysyphean stone. 1871 LOWELL Study Wind. (1886) 41 The Sisyphean toil of rolling the clammy balls. 1895 KIDD Soc. Evol. ix. 245 Do we only see therein humanity condemned to an aimless Sisyphean labour?

 

Odontogenic

Of or relating to the development of teeth; spec. designating or derived from tissue that gives rise to teeth.

1890 Cent. Dict., Odontogenic, pertaining to the origin and development of teeth. 1891 Philos. Trans. Royal Soc. B. 182 537 For this layer of connective tissue surrounding the pulp and entering into the substance of the matrix I would suggest the term ‘odontogenic fibres’, from their great similarity to the osteogenic fibres of bone. 1951 Science 13 July 50/1 Of particular interest is the chapter on odontogenic tumors. 1984 J. R. TIGHE & D. R. DAVIES Pathology (ed. 4) xv. 132 Adamantinoma (ameloblastoma) is a tumour arising from the odontogenic epithelium. 1990 Brit. Jrnl. Orthodontics 17 124/1 The development of an odontogenic cyst is an uncommon occurrence among routine orthodontic patients.

 

Idyll

1. A short poem, descriptive of some picturesque scene or incident, chiefly in rustic life. prose idyll, a prose composition treating subjects of the same kind in a poetic style. (and derivs.).

1601 HOLLAND Pliny II. 296 Those amatorious eidyls and eclogues of Theocritus among Greek Poets, of Catullus and Virgil among vs. 1658 PHILLIPS, Idyl, a kinde of Eclogue, or Pastoral Poem, such as was written by Theocritus, Moschus, and others. 1799 W. TAYLOR in Robberds Mem. (1843) I. 243 The descriptive parts of this idyll..are unsurpassable. 1859 J. H. STIRLING Crit. Ess., Tennyson (1868) 61 The Idyll or Idyl..is, on the whole, Tennyson's favourite form of rhythmical composition. 1873 SYMONDS Grk. Poets x. 306 The name of the Idyll sufficiently explains its nature. It is a little picture. Rustic or town life, legends of the gods, and passages of personal experience supply the idyllist with subjects. Generally there is a narrator, and in so far the Idyll is epic; its verse too is the hexameter. 1879 World 16 Apr., An Idyl is..not necessarily concerning pastoral matters, though from the prevalence of such topics in the idyls of Theocritus, the general notion is that idyllic and pastoral are almost convertible terms. 1888 BARRIE (title) Auld Licht Idylls. [Prose.]
2. transf. An episode or a series of events or circumstances of pastoral or rural simplicity, and suitable for an idyll.

1841-4 EMERSON Ess., Poet Wks. (Bohn) I. 164 The pairing of the birds is an idyll, not tedious as our idylls are. 1869 LECKY Europ. Mor. II. v. 296 Nausicaa, whose figure shines like a perfect idyll among the tragedies of the Odyssey.
3. Mus. ‘A composition, usually instrumental, of a pastoral or sentimental character’ (Cent. Dict.).

4. Comb. idyll-pastoral a., pastoral in subject and idyllic in form.

1849 E. C. OTTÉ tr. Humboldt's Cosmos II. 434 The artificial form of idyl-pastoral romances, and didactic poems.

 

kakistocracy


The government of a state by the worst citizens.

1829 T. L. PEACOCK Misfort. Elphin vi. 93 Our agrestic kakistocracy now castigates the heinous sins which were then committed with impunity. 1876 LOWELL Lett. II. vii. 179 Is ours a government of the people, by the people, for the people, or a Kakistocracy rather, for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools? 1879 BARING-GOULD Germany II. 286 The..régime is at once a plutocracy and a kakistocracy.
So kakistocratical a.

1641 ‘SMECTYMNUUS’ Vind. Answ. vi. 82 But when the men in whose hands the government of the Church is, are bad; then it is , or Kakistocraticall.

 

Patent

[< Anglo-Norman and Middle French patent (c1260 in Anglo-Norman; 1330-2 in Middle French) and its etymon classical Latin patent-, patns open, lying open, unobstructed, wide, broad, readily accessible, clear, obvious, use as adjective of present participle of patre to be open (< the same Indo-European base as FATHOM n.).
With letters patent cf. Anglo-Norman lettres patentes (c1290; also 1307 in Old French as patentes lettres, 1357 in Middle French as lettres patentes) and post-classical Latin litterae patentes (from 12th cent. in British sources; also littera patens, singular, from 13th cent. in British sources).
With cross patent (see sense 7) cf. post-classical Latin crux patens (late 14th cent.; first half of the 15th cent. in British sources). Cf. PATTÉE a.
N.E.D. (1904) also gives the pronunciation (pæ·tnt) /pætnt/, and gives the following note on the variation: ‘for the analogy of pronunciation, cf. ltent, prent; (pæ·tnt) /pætnt/ prevails in U.S. So in the derivatives. In official use in England, branches I. and II. are sometimes differentiated as (pæ·tnt) /pætnt/ and (pi·tnt) /petnt/.’]

I. Senses relating to a right, title, or patent.

1. As a postmodifier. a. Law. letters patent (also in 14th cent. lettre patent). Originally: an open letter or document (see quot. 1891) issued by a monarch or government to record a contract, authorize or command an action, or confer a privilege, right, office, title, or property. In later use esp.: such a document which grants for a set period the sole right to make, use, or sell some process, invention, or commodity. Cf. PATENT n. 2a.

a1387 J. TREVISA tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) VIII. 55 Kyng William sei in his own lettre patent [L. litteris suis patentibus; ?a1475 anon. tr. letters patent] at he and his successoures and men of Scotland schulde doo homage, legeaunce, and feaute to the kynges of Engelond. 1442 in J. Graves Proc. King's Council Ireland (1877) 287 Ye..yeve me power and auctoritee, be youer gracious letres patentes oute of Engelande, to make a suffisant Deputee as oft tymes as it is necessarie to me. 1598 R. HAKLUYT tr. Richard II in Princ. Navigations I. 153 In testimony whereof we haue caused these our letters to be made patents. 1612 J. DAVIES Discov. Causes Ireland 8 He gaue license by his Letters Patents. 1643 in P. Darcy Argument Commons Ireland 10 By what law are..Markets to be held in Capite, when no other expresse tenure be mentioned in his Majesties Letter-Pattents? 1707 E. CHAMBERLAYNE Present State Eng. II. ii. 79 The King..By his Letters Patent may erect new Universities, Boroughs, Colleges, Hospitals [etc.]. 1750 C. SMITH Anc. & Present State of Cork I. 20 Letters patent were passed to Dermot Mac Owen Mac Carty. 1821 J. BAYLEY Hist. Tower London I. 194 A keeper, appointed by the king's letters patent, with a stated salary. 1863 H. COX Inst. Eng. Govt. I. vii. 65 Richard II was the first to confer the peerage by letters-patent. 1891 C. R. SCARGILL-BIRD Guide to P.R.O. 32 The Letters Patent were..written upon open sheets of parchment, with the Great Seal pendent at the bottom..[while] the ‘Litteræ Clausæ’, or Letters Close,..being of a more private nature, and addressed to one or two individuals only, were closed or folded up and sealed on the outside. 1901 London gas. 19 Nov. 7472/2 The King has been pleased to direct Letters Patent to be passed..granting the title ‘Royal’ to the Metropolitan Borough of Kensington. 1958 M. KELLY Christmas Egg I. 9 A shop..advertising that a long-dead proprietor had been ‘Agent for Female Pills, by the King's Letters Patent 1743’. 2002 Daily Tel. 2 May 15/2 The Queen arrived to view the Letters Patent granting the city Lord Mayoralty status.
b. fig. Obs.

a1592 R. GREENE Sc. Hist. James IV II. i. in Wks. 198 Living by your wit as you do, shifting is your letters-patents. a1625 J. BOYS in C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David Ps. xix. Introd., It is a letter patent, or open epistle for all. 1660 J. GAUDEN 56 By the Letters pattents of the holy Scriptures, whereof no man..can without sin be ignorant. 1711 LD. SHAFTESBURY Characteristicks III. V. iii. 338 Who are they..that by virtue of any immediate Testimonial from Heaven are thus intitled? Where are the Letters-Patent? The Credentials?
2. a. joined patent (also joint patent), sharing by letters patent in some privilege or office (cf. PATENT n. 1, quot. 1450). Also fig. Obs.

1552 R. HULOET Abcedarium Anglico Latinum, Ioynt patent with another, as where, ii. men haue one office ioyntly, duumuir. a1586 SIR P. SIDNEY Arcadia (1590) II. xxix. sig. Gg5, So incredibly blinded..that he could thinke such a Queene [sc. Artaxia] could be content to be ioined-patent with an other [sc. Erona] to haue such an husband. 1608 D. TUVIL Ess. Polit. & Morall f. 37, Where Prayse and Honour haue been ioyn'd patent with Exercise.
b. Established, conferred, or appointed by letters patent. Now rare.

1568 D. LINDSAY Satyre (Bannatyne) 1187 in Wks. (1931) II. 206 Welcum hame robene rome raker, Our haly patent pardoner. 1597-8 Act 39 Eliz. c. 4 §2 All..Proctors, Procurors Patent Gatherers or Collectors for Gaoles Prisons or Hospitalles. 1660 S. PEPYS Diary 4 May (1970) I. 128 In case the King doth restore every man to his places that ever have been patent. 1707 E. CHAMBERLAYNE Present State Eng. III. 501 Patent-Officers [of the Customs] in the Out-Ports. 1845 B. DISRAELI Sybil IV. ii, Lord Deloraine..held a good patent place which had been conferred on his descendants by the old chancellor. 1890 L. EDMUNDS Law & Pract. Lett. Patent iii. 17 The subject of a patent privilege. 1994 Daily Tel. 15 Dec. 3/2 Unlike a patent earldom, it carries no right to the House of Lords.
3. a. Of a process, invention, commodity, etc.: protected by letters patent; made, used, or sold under the protection of letters patent; that has been patented.

1693 VISCT. STAIR Inst. Law Scotl. IV. xlvii. §40 Letters for making patent Doors, when Parties keep themselves or their Goods within locked Doors, and do not give access thereto, for executing of Caption or Poynding. 1707 J. MORTIMER Whole Art Husb. I. ix. 124 Madder..in King Charles the First's time..was made a Patent Commodity. 1786 R. SANDILANDS (title) A description of the patent instrument called a sward-cutter. 1824 BYRON Don Juan XVI. xxvi, He read an article the king attacking, And a long eulogy of ‘Patent Blacking’. 1853 E. BULWER-LYTTON My Novel I. II. iii. 103 A patent corkscrew, too good to be used in common. 1927 Passing Show Summer 44/1 Each company dealt in patent cheque-writing machines. 1994 W. GADDIS Frolic of his Own 570 The system of aeration, fed on silverside and flake food, vitamins and krill and beef heart in a patent spinach mixture.
b. In extended use: to which a person has a proprietary claim. Also: special for its purpose; ingenious, well-contrived.

1797 LD. NELSON in N. H. Nicolas Lett. II. 346 There is a saying in the fleet too flattering for me to omit tellingviz. ‘Nelson's Patent Bridge for boarding First Rates’, alluding to my passing over an enemy's 80-gun ship. 1819 G. CRABBE Tales of Hall I. iii. 41 He claims a right on all things to decide; A kind of patent-wisdom. 1837 DICKENS Pickwick Papers xxxvii. 405 Put your hand into the cupboard, and bring out the patent digester [a black bottle half full of brandy]. 1939 L. MACNEICE Autumn Jrnl. VII. 30 Meetings assemble not, as so often, now Merely to advertise some patent panacea. 1995 Pract. Householder Mar. 4/1 Siphonage problems can be overcome by fitting a patent anti-siphon trap to the basin outlet.
II. More generally: open, widespread, unobstructed.

4. a. Of a fact, quality, phenomenon, etc.: clear, evident, obvious.

a1398 J. TREVISA tr. Bartholomeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 318, Lettres ben y-seled, with wax, closed and patent. 1460 Burgh Court Bk. Newburgh in A. Laing Lindores Abbey (1876) xvi. 158 Ye soytts callit ye curt affirmyt ye absens ar patent. 1508 Will in J. T. Fowler Acts Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1875) 330 Stone, with a scriptor to be paytent uppon the same. 1528 St. Papers Hen. VIII IV. 538 Yat ye King oure broyeris gude mynd may be maid patent to oure derrest son. 1639 N. N. tr. J. Du Bosq Compl. Woman I. sig. Ciij, That which is patent even to our senses, cannot be proved but very hardly with the force of our reason. 1857 H. MILLER Test. Rocks iii. 136 The geologic evidence is so complete as to be patent to all. 1874 J. S. BLACKIE On Self-culture 39 A patent fact, as certain as anything in mathematics. 1904 ‘H. MCHUGH’ I'm from Missouri v. 66 It soon became patent that whoever won the rag-chewing contest would also win the election. 1951 C. P. SNOW Masters xxxix, This was the humility and honesty of his heart. It was so patent that no one challenged it. 1999 J. LEIGH Hunter (2000) 64 Nothing is missing, but it is patent someone has been carefully through his belongings.
b. Med. and Veterinary Med. Designating the period of a parasitic infection when the causative organism can be detected by clinicopathological tests; (of an infection) in this stage of development.

1926 Q. Rev. Biol. 1 399/2 The Patent Period covers the interval during which the parasites can be demonstrated by microscopical technique. 1944 Jrnl. Infectious Dis. 75 195/1 Treatment was begun on the third day of the patent parasitemia. 1987 Jrnl. Parasitol. 73 931/2 Two additional animals, monkeys SS-68 and SS-61, developed patent parasitemias with prepatent periods of 13 and 18 days following inoculation of 100,000 sporozoites each. 2002 Ann. Trop. Med. & Parasitol. 96 497 Several, patent, sporadic cases of subconjunctival O. lupi infection have recently been reported in dogs.
5. Not shut in or enclosed; in an open location, open to view. Also: approachable, accessible. Freq with to. Obs.
Quot 1440 has the meaning ‘wide open, flaring’.

?1440 tr. Palladius De Re Rustica (Fitzw.) IV. 821 Their [sc. the horses'] eres short & sharp, their eyen stepe, Their nasis thorlid wide and patent be. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl.) I. 61 For the patente magnitude felethe by more efficacite the strenhte of e moone then a see coartate. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl.) I. 179 Constantinople..is patente on euery syde to men saylenge from Asia and Europa, compassede alle moste with the grete see. 1566 Acts & Constit. Scotl. To Rdr. iij, The Romanis..had thair statutis..writtin in Tabillis, and fixit in the maist publique and patent placis. ?1595 J. BUREL Pamphilus, I pray you to be trew, And lat your hous be patent to me ay. 1757 S. BOYCE Poems 37 Let ev'ry goddess, patent to the day, Each robe-hid charm, each secret grace display. a1783 H. BROOKE Poet. Wks. (1792) II. I. 137 Awed from his seat, tho' patent to his view, The rolling universe holds distance due. 1848 P. J. BAILEY Festus (ed. 3) 206 A circular temple patent to the sun. 1886 J. BARROWMAN Gloss. Sc. Mining Terms 49 Patent (a term used in leases), open; unobstructed.
6. a. Of a door, outlet, etc.: (wide) open, easily entered, allowing free passage; providing general access. Also, of a building: having an open door or doors. Obs.
fig. in quot. 1475.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl.) I. 29 This presente story is smyten in to vij ryuerers..at the weye may be patente to the residu peple of God. a1522 G. DOUGLAS tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) XI. xvii. 28 The oppyn patent et. 1584 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1848) II. 52 At the quhilk patent portis thair sall be ane daylie wache. 1639 W. GOOLD in J. Spalding Mem. Trubles Scotland. & Eng. (1851) II. 36 How muche he is obliged to respect and give a patent eir heirefter to there farder grievances. 1675 E. WILSON Spadacrene Dunelmensis 23 The bottom of the Sea..is perforated with sundry voraginous inlets and patent mouths. 1701 Acts. Gen. Assembly 17 The Assembly caused call the said Doctor George Garden several times at the most patent Door of the Church. 1733 G. CHEYNE Eng. Malady II. xi. 231 Throwing them [sc. the fluids] off by the safest and most patent Outlets. 1793 Faculty Decisions XI. 87 The church of Cambeltown has four doors and it is not easy to say which of them is the most patent. 1810 Framer's Mag. 2 182 Others make their doors so patent, as to admit carts. 1898 Westm. gas. 5 Oct. 4/2 One extremity of the tube is sealed, the other end is patent.
b. Med. Open, unobstructed; (esp. of the ductus arteriosus or the foramen ovale) not closed, having failed to undergo normal closure.

1885 R. QUAIN Med. Dict. I. 417/1 It is readily relieved by the patient wearing a piece of silver tube, to keep the passage [of the ear] patent. 1913 Cunningham's Text-bk. Anat. (ed. 4) 1050 The foramen ovale may remain patent, as in amphibians and reptiles. 1968 New Eng. Jrnl. Med. 14 Mar. 621/2 The diagnosis of patent ductus arteriosus was made because of a continuous murmur. 1985 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 9 Nov. 1307/2 The ischaemic ileal loops were resected and the popliteal artery made patent. 1999 Dogs in Canada July 99/1 There are a number of heart ailments known to occur in Briards: cardiomyopathy, patent ductus arteriosis, [etc.].
c. Zool. Having a wide aperture or a shallow cavity; patulous. Obs. rare0.

1890 Cent. Dict., Patent, in zöol., patulous; open, as from an axis.
7. Spreading, expanded. a. Heraldry. = PATTÉE a. Obs.

1486 Blasyng of Armys sig. ciiv in Bk. St. Albans, An oder cros..straythyr in the myddis then in thenddys, with opyn corneris..hit is calde a cros patent. 1486 Blasyng of Armys sig. civ, in Bk. St. Albans, Hit is calde a cros flurri patent, for he hath his endis opyn. 1610 J. GUILLIM Display of Heraldrie II. vii. 68 This is called a Crosse Patee..because the ends are broad and patent. 1819 in Scott Ivanhoe xxix. (note) A cross counter patent cantoned with four little crosses or, upon a field azure.
b. Bot. Of a leaf, branch, etc.: spreading widely, or at right angles to the axis.

1753 E. CHAMBERS Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Leaf, Patent Leaf, one which stands almost strait out from the stalk, or nearly at right angles with it. 1831 W. J. HOOKER Brit. Flora (ed. 2) 366 Ophrys. Perianth somewhat patent. 1861 R. BENTLEY Man. Bot. I. iii. 108 If they come off at a right angle, the branches are spreading or patent, as in the Oak and Cedar. 1904 H. GROVES & J. GROVES Babington's Man. Bot. (ed. 9) 506 Panicle diffuse patent, branches..divaricate in fl. or afterwards. 1961 H. H. ALLAN Flora N.Z. I. 921 Lvs loosely imbricate, patent or reflexed. 1997 A. A. DUDMAN & A. J. RICHARDS Dandelions of Great Brit. & Ireland 244 The lateral leaf-lobes are patent, narrow and parallel-sided.
8. Available for general use or inspection; accessible to the public; public. Now rare.

1493 Acts Lords of Council I. 298/2 And he do nocht the kingis hienes will mak his chapell be patent and his breuez gevin. 1566 Acts & Constit. Scotl. To Rdr. iij, To cause publis and make patent the Lawis. 1602 W. WARNER Albions Eng. (1612) XII. lxx. 294 For Guinie, in her highnesse raigne acquir'd and patent made. 1727 W. MCFARLANE Geogr. Coll. Scotl. (1906) I. 125 The only highways throw the said parish are..to the W. the patent rod to Sterling, and to the E. to the Bridge of Earn. 1834 W. HAMILTON Discuss. (1852) 474 The Colleges would be equally patent to such dissenters as were not averse from their observances. 1838 W. HAMILTON in Reid's Wks. II. 683 (note) The greater number of those [works] now extant were preserved and patent during the two centuries. 1913 Acts 3 & 4 Geo. V C. 20 §80 The sederunt book and accounts shall be patent to the commissioners and to the creditors..at all times.
III. Special uses.

9. patent food, a proprietary foodstuff. patent fuel, fuel in the form of briquettes or blocks made by compressing and shaping crushed coal, with added binder if necessary. patent house = patent theatre. patent insides, inside pages of a newspaper which are bought by a publisher already printed with syndicated articles, etc.; cf. patent outsides. patent log, a mechanical device for measuring the speed of a ship. patent malt, malt which has been roasted so as to alter its flavour and colour. patent medicine, a proprietary medicine manufactured under patent and available without prescription. patent note = shape-note s.v. SHAPE n.1 17; freq. attrib. patent outsides, outside pages of a newspaper pre-printed with syndicated articles; cf. patent insides. patent sail hist., an automatically controlled windmill sail. patent still now hist., a type of still, patented by Aeneas Coffey in 1830, which operates on a continuous basis, with the wash flowing against a current of steam which strips out the alcohol, and gives a much greater output than a pot still operating on a batch basis. patent theatre hist., any of several theatres established by Royal Patent between the 17th and 19th centuries; spec. (in London) the theatres of Covent Garden and Drury Lane, whose Patents were granted by Charles II in 1662 (cf. sense 2b). patent-winged a. Entomol. Obs. rare, having wings spreading widely apart.

1871 London Jrnl. Apr. (advt.) Dr. Ridge's *patent food. 1903 ‘A. MCNEILL’ Egregious Eng. 56 Mammas..who suckle their children out of patent-food tins. 1983 Jrnl. Amer. Hist. 70 90 Many prominent reformers ascribed high levels of infant mortality among the poor to artificial feeding and patent foods.
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1851 Harper's Mag. Dec. 141/2 The Hicockolorum, or *Patent Fuel, warranted never to smoke, smell, decrease in bulk, or throw out dangerous gases. 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §091 Charge man; (i) (patent fuel) is in charge of operations in manufacturing patent fuel. 1987 Jrnl. Econ. Hist. 47 526 Coal was used commercially for burning, for distillation (to produce coke, gas, patent fuels, and chemicals), and for smelting.
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1828 R. MONTGOMERY Age Reviewed II. 209 The present play-scribblers that bray round the two *Patent Houses, have only one object in viewmoney-catching. 1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 24 Nov. 888/3 In 1832, however, the fashion [of stalls] spread at last to the patent houses. 1992 S. M. ARCHER Junius Brutus Booth iii. 63 Booth would perform roles as directed by Elliston at the patent house.
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1879 Winnipeg Daily Times 22 Apr. 3/1 The Free Press *patent insides did not arrive Saturday in time, so the Monday paper is double size. 1931 Sat. Evening Post 28 Feb. 129/2 Some publishers bought patent insides, which were the interior pages of the newspaper ready printed for use. 2000 J. KATES in R. Miraldi Muckrakers vi. 112 Roese printed four pages of his paper locally, stuffing it with another four pages of ‘patent insides’ produced at St. Paul.
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1848 W. F. LYNCH Diary 18 Apr. in Narr. United States' Exped. River Jordan (1849) xii. 268 We endeavored to steer a little to the north of west,..threw the *patent log overboard to measure the distance. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 509/1 The modern patent (or taffrail) log mechanically indicates the rate of travel. 2002 Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator (Nexis) 8 June T1 Slocum's navigational devices consisted of little more than a compass, sextant, patent log and a tin alarm clock.
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1830 M. DONOVAN Domest. Econ. I. iv. 87 The deep brown malt, now in use under the name of *patent malt, is made by roasting malt..until it becomes blackish brown. 1965 S. M. TRITTON Guide to Better Wine & Beer Making 133 Milk Stout... Pour hot..water over the patent malt and stir in the flaked barley. 1995 Coffee Jrnl. Autumn 16/3 Sprecher Black Bavarian is a malty, complexly flavored dark brown beer brewed..from a blend of pale, caramel and black patent malts.
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1770 Essex gas. (Salem, Mass.) 17 Apr. 4/4 To be sold by Benjamin Eaton..in Marblehead..a collection of genuine *patent medicines. 1830 SCOTT Lett. Demonol. v. 144 The proprietor of a patent medicine, who should in those days have attested his having wrought such miracles as we see sometimes advertised. 1901 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 63/1 Soaps, patent medicines, chocolates..are the things most advertised. 2000 A. DALBY Dangerous Tastes 154 Balsam of Peru..is still an ingredient in some patent medicines.
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1822 S. ELY (title) Sacred music, containing a great variety of psalm and hymn tunes... The greater part of which were never published in the *patent notes. 1848 Ladies' Repository Sept. 286/1 The old patent notes, as they were called, are discarded in this book, much to the joy, we should think, of all lovers of good music. 1957 Amer. Q. 9 284 The distinguishing characteristics of the patent or shape note hymn are: a setting in three voice-parts..and chords without thirds, parallel octaves and fifths are common. 1988 R. SANJEK Amer. Pop. Music v. 193 The Southern Harmony became the most successful patent-note songbook issued prior to the Civil War.
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1871 Lancaster (Pa.) Intelligencer 3 Apr., The editor who surrenders control of one-half of his paper to some manufacturer of *patent-outsides, may make a slight reduction in his current expenses. 1931 E. S. BRADLEY Henry Charles Lea 229 There are concerns here which supply to the country press what are called ‘patent outsides’. 1970 R. K. KENT Lang. Journalism 98 Patent insides (or outsides), features or other syndicated material that come to a newspaper already printed on inside (or first and last) pages; readyprint pages.
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1924 Trans. Newcomen Soc. 3 50 It was desired to fit *patent sail regulation instead of ‘spring’ or ‘sail’ sweeps. 1973 J. VINCE Discov. Windmills (ed. 3) 21 The most significant improvement in sail design came about in 1807 when William Cubbit [sic] invented his patent sail. 2002 Rockford (Illinois) Register Star (Nexis) 31 July 9 A, P. LaCour's mill was built in Denmark with patent sails and twin fantails on a steel tower.
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1887 A. BARNARD Whisky Distilleries of U.K. 12 Blenders without number can be found who will strenuously affirm that to give the public a moderate priced article with sufficient age, there is no way but to use good old *Patent Still Grain Spirit as a basis. 1934 J. I. DAVIS Beginner's Guide to Wines viii. 85 Irish Whisky is always ‘pot-stilled’... Some Scotch Whisky is so made, but most of it is manufactured in a patent still. 1995 R. WEIR Hist. Distillers Company i. 18 Of the twenty-two distilleries believed to have operated patent stills between 1828 and 1887 only three were new foundations.
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1836 DICKENS Sketches by Boz 2nd Ser. 166 Why were they not engaged at one of the *patent theatres? 1973 Times Lit. Suppl. 19 Oct. 1272/2 During the period 1740-80 there were only two patent theatres in London: Drury Lane and Covent Garden. 2002 Stage (Nexis) 18 Apr. 45 In 1843 the Theatre Regulation Act, which destroyed the monopoly of the patent theatres in presenting legitimate drama, came into effect.
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1752 J. HILL Hist. Animals 79 The *patent-winged Phalaena.
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