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patente

driving licence

noun pah-TEN-teh Rare

Origin: Latin patens (open, evident)

Also means

licence

Usage Note

Patente is feminine: la patente, le patenti. The full term for a driving licence is patente di guida. More broadly it means any official licence or certificate (patente nautica = boat licence). The adjective patente ('blatant, obvious') exists but is now literary.

Examples

"Ha preso la patente lo scorso mese."

Natural Translation

She got her driving licence last month.

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