padrone

American  

[puh-droh-nee, -ney, pah-draw-ne] / pəˈdroʊ ni, -neɪ, pɑˈdrɔ nɛ /

noun

padrones, plural padroni plural

1. a master; boss.

2. an employer, especially of immigrant laborers, who provides communal housing and eating arrangements, controls the allocation of pay, etc., in a manner that exploits the workers.

3. an innkeeper.

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padrone British  

/ pəˈdrəʊnɪ /

noun

1. the owner or proprietor of an inn, esp in Italy

2. an employer who completely controls his workers, esp a man who exploits Italian immigrants in the US

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• padronism
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• padroni
  plural
• padrones
  plural

Etymology

Origin of padrone

From Italian, dating back to 1660–70; see origin at patron