Dictionary

patron en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈpeɪ.tɹən/

Etymology

From Middle English patroun, patrone, from Old French patron, from Latin patrōnus, derived from pater (“father”). Doublet of padrone, Patronus, patroon, and pattern.

Meanings

1. One who protects or supports; a defender or advocate.
   • Let him who works the client wrong beware the patron’s ire! 1834–1838 (date written), Thomas Babington Macaulay, “Virginia”, in Lays of Ancient Rome, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 154:
   • the patron of true holiness 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
   • patron of my life and liberty c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:
2. One who protects or supports; a defender or advocate. ▸ A guardian or intercessor; synonym of patron saint.
   • St. Joseph is the patron of many different places.
3. An influential, wealthy person who supported an artist, craftsman, a scholar or a noble.
4. A customer, as of a certain store or restaurant.
   • In our trial of the AOT, a transect was used to collect data about the languages being spoken by patrons of the NIE cafeteria during lunchtimes. 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 4:
   • This car park is for patrons only.
5. (Roman, historical) A protector of a dependent, especially a master who had freed a slave but still retained some paternal rights.
6. (UK) One who has gift and disposition of a benefice.
7. A padrone.
8. (historical, obsolete) A property owner, a landlord, a master. (Compare patroon.)
   • [...] would obtain permission from the West India Company to settle in certain areas in the New World and cultivate the land. Sometimes absentee patrons would give the colony to a group of interested persons and the patrons would finance ... 1992, Eric O. Ayisi, St. Eustatius, Treasure Island of the Caribbean:
   • Half-a-dozen little boys carried it to the inn, where I had to explain to the patron, in my best Spanish, that we wanted a carriage to go to the baths, seven leagues off. 1879, Annie Allnutt Brassey, A Voyage in the "Sunbeam", page 170:

Forms

Deriveds

patronship · patronise · playtron · nonpatron · patron saint · patronly · enpatron · patronless · micropatron · patrondom · copatron · patronlike · patronize

Relateds

pattern · impatronize · patroness · patronage · sponsor

Synonyms

friend

Translations (76)

el ιδιοκτήτης (property owner, landlord, master) · hu védnök (one who protects or supports) · mk ага (one who protects or supports) · az maarifpərvər (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · az mesenat (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · it mecenate (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · is bakhjarl (one who protects or supports) · is stuðningsmaður (one who protects or supports) · ru засту́пница (one who protects or supports) · az himayəçi (one who protects or supports) · gl patrón (one who protects or supports) · bg покровител (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · az havadar (one who protects or supports) · cs příznivec (one who protects or supports) · ru покрови́тельница (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · es mecenas (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · hu patrónus (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · es auspiciador (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · ja パトロン (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · kk желеп-жебеуші (one who protects or supports) · hu patrónus (one who protects or supports) · fi mesenaatti (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · hu pártfogó (one who protects or supports) · fi tukija (one who protects or supports) · grc προστάτης (one who protects or supports) · de Patron (one who protects or supports) · fi suojeluspyhimys (one who protects or supports) · ar حريف; زبون (one who protects or supports) · el προστάτης (one who protects or supports) · tr mesen (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · de Schirmherr (one who protects or supports) · fi tukija (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · mk ага (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · fa حامی (one who protects or supports) · grc πρόδικος (one who protects or supports) · da patron (Roman law: protector of a dependent) · ar راعي; حامي; وصي; سيد; و (one who protects or supports) · az himayədar (one who protects or supports) · nl schutspatroon (one who protects or supports) · nl beschermheilige (one who protects or supports) · pt mecenas (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · az hami (one who protects or supports) · el πάτρονας (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · ru покрови́тель (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · sv mecenat (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · da mæcen (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · hu mecénás (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · gl mecenas (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · nl mecenas (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · es patrón (one who protects or supports) · is verndari (one who protects or supports) · eo patrono (one who protects or supports) · bg меценат (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · az hami (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · fi suojelija (one who protects or supports) · ja 恩人 (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · fi suojelija (Roman law: protector of a dependent) · is velunnari (one who protects or supports) · enm patroun (one who protects or supports) · ja 守護者 (one who protects or supports) · bg патрон (Roman law: protector of a dependent) · de Mäzen (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · es patrocinador (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · ota صاحب (one who protects or supports) · gv ard-charrey (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · kk жебеуші (one who protects or supports) · fr mécène (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · ota صاحب (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · bg защитник (one who protects or supports) · txb tanāpate (one who protects or supports) · mi kairangi (one who protects or supports) · fi isäntä (property owner, landlord, master) · it patrono (one who protects or supports) · ru засту́пник (one who protects or supports) · cs mecenáš (wealthy individual who supports an artist etc.) · wym patrön (one who protects or supports)

patron en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˈpeɪ.tɹən/

Etymology

From Middle English patroun, patrone, from Old French patron, from Latin patrōnus, derived from pater (“father”). Doublet of padrone, Patronus, patroon, and pattern.

Meanings

1. (obsolete, transitive) To be a patron of; to patronize; to favour.
   • a good cause needs not to be patroned by passion 1642, [Thomas Browne], “(please specify the page)”, in Religio Medici, London: […] Andrew Crooke, →OCLC:
2. (obsolete, transitive) To treat as a patron.

Forms