[pey-truh
n] 
| 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. |