Dictionary

patroonship en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /pəˈtɹuːnʃɪp/ (UK)

Etymology

From patroon + -ship. Compare Dutch patroonschap. Piecewise doublet of patronship.

Meanings

1. (US, countable, historical, uncountable) The position or office of a patroon; landownership (originally of a Dutch colony).
   • It was a protest against the patroonship system, which went back to the 1600s when the Dutch ruled New York, a system where […] ‘a few families, intricately intermarried, controlled the destinies of three hundred thousand people and ruled in almost kingly splendor near two million acres of land.’ 2003 (revised), Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States, HarperCollins 2005, p. 211
   • His patroonship of Rensellaerwick lay immediately below Fort Aurania, and extended for several miles on each side of the Hudson, beside embracing the mountainous region of the Helderberg. 1809, Washington Irving, A History of New York:
2. (US, countable, historical, uncountable) An estate run by a patroon, or under a similar system.

Forms

Synonyms

patronship