4 ms·
> The word "patent" sounds especially weird to me in that context. Are they seriously "patents" for taxiing people? "Patently" is a synonym for "obviously" - n
by dminor 12y ago
> The word "patent" sounds especially weird to me in that context. Are they seriously "patents" for taxiing people?
"Patently" is a synonym for "obviously" - nothing to do with patents.
- joeyo 12y agoThis is one of those funny cases where the etymological connection has been a bit obscured by time. Patents are called such because they are "open letters" disclosing the invention. Patent : Open :: Latent : Hidden. Of course in this case it's patent that patent disclosures are not what is being referred to. :-)
- HackinOut 12y agoJust saw your comment: Thanks for the insight! Now that I understood the root causes and laughed at the related word play, I won't forget anymore :)