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patente

patent

noun pah-TEN-teh Less Common

Also means

licence plate

Usage Note

Patente in Spain and most of Latin America primarily means an intellectual-property patent (registrar una patente). In several South American countries (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) it is the everyday word for a vehicle licence plate, where Spain uses matrícula. The adjective patente (the same spelling) also exists, meaning obvious or evident.

Examples

"La empresa registró la patente de su invento."

Natural Translation

The company registered the patent for its invention.

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