DEFINITION of 'Patent'. A government license that gives the holder exclusive rights to a process, design or new invention for a designated period of time. Applications for patents are usually handled by a government agency. In the U.S. the United States Patent and Trademark Office handles application and documentation. Next Up.
Definition of attendant - a person employed to provide a service to the public in a particular place, a person who is present on a particular occasion Definition of attendant - a person employed to provide a service to the public in a particular place, a person who is present on a particular occasion dictionary thesaurus
Steward (office) A steward is an official who is appointed by the legal ruling monarch to represent them in a country, and may have a mandate to govern it in their name; in the latter case, it roughly corresponds with the position of viceroy (for Romance languages), governor, or deputy (the Roman rector, praefectus or vicarius).