patency

noun

1. the state of being patent.
2. Medicine/Medical. the condition of not being blocked or obstructed.
3. Phonetics. openness of articulation, found more or less in all phonemes except stops.

noun

1. the condition of being obvious
2. the state of a bodily passage, duct, etc, of being open or unobstructed
3. phonetics the degree to which the vocal tract remains unobstructed in the articulation of a speech soundSee also closure (def. 7)

n.1650s, from patent + -cy. n.

1. The state or quality of being open, expanded, or unblocked.