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Definition of patron - 4 dictionary results
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pa⋅tron

  [pey-truhn]
Use patron in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who is a customer, client, or paying guest, esp. a regular one, of a store, hotel, or the like.
2. a person who supports with money, gifts, efforts, or endorsement an artist, writer, museum, cause, charity, institution, special event, or the like: a patron of the arts; patrons of the annual Democratic dance.
3. a person whose support or protection is solicited or acknowledged by the dedication of a book or other work.
4. patron saint.
5. Roman History. the protector of a dependent or client, often the former master of a freedman still retaining certain rights over him.
6. Ecclesiastical. a person who has the right of presenting a member of the clergy to a benefice.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < ML, L patrōnus legal protector, advocate (ML: lord, master), der. of pater father. See pattern

Related forms:
pa⋅tron⋅al, pa⋅tron⋅ly, adjective
pa⋅tron⋅dom, pa⋅tron⋅ship, noun
pa⋅tron⋅less, adjective
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pa⋅trón

  [pah-trawn]
–noun, plural -tron⋅es  [-traw-nes] . Spanish.
(in Mexico and the southwestern U.S.) a boss; employer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To patron
pa·tron   (pā'trən)   
n.  

  1. One that supports, protects, or champions someone or something, such as an institution, event, or cause; a sponsor or benefactor: a patron of the arts.

  2. A customer, especially a regular customer.

  3. also (pä-trōn') The owner or manager of an establishment, especially a restaurant or an inn of France or Spain.

    1. A noble or wealthy person in ancient Rome who granted favor and protection to someone in exchange for certain services.

    2. A slave owner in ancient Rome who freed a slave without relinquishing all legal claim to him.

  5. One who possesses the right to grant an ecclesiastical benefice to a member of the clergy.

  6. A patron saint.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin patrōnus, from Latin, from pater, patr-, father; see pəter- in Indo-European roots.]
pa'tron·al (pā'trə-nəl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

patron 
"a lord-master, a protector," c.1300, from O.Fr. patrun (12c.), from M.L. patronus "patron saint, bestower of a benefice, lord, master, model, pattern," from L. patronus "defender, protector, advocate," from pater (gen. patris) "father." Meaning "one who advances the cause" (of an artist, institution, etc.), usually by the person's wealth and power, is attested from 1377; "commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery" [Johnson]. Commercial sense of "regular customer" first recorded 1605.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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