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• patron
  patron

  noun

  a person who is a customer, client, or paying guest, especially a regular one, of a store, hotel, or the like.
• patrón
  patrón

  noun

  (in Mexico and the southwestern U.S.) a boss; employer.

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The Medici were famous patrons in which Italian city?

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patron

¹ American  

[pay-truhn] / ˈpeɪ trən /

noun

• patrons
  plural

1. a person who is a customer, client, or paying guest, especially 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.

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patrón ² American  

[pah-trawn] / pɑˈtrɔn /

noun

Spanish.

• patrones
  plural

1. (in Mexico and the southwestern U.S.) a boss; employer.

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patron ¹ British  

/ ˈpeɪtrən /

noun

1. a person, esp a man, who sponsors or aids artists, charities, etc; protector or benefactor

2. a customer of a shop, hotel, etc, esp a regular one

3. See patron saint

4. (in ancient Rome) the protector of a dependant or client, often the former master of a freedman still retaining certain rights over him

5. Christianity a person or body having the right to present a clergyman to a benefice

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patron ² British  

/ patrɔ̃ /

noun

1. a man, who owns or manages a hotel, restaurant, or bar

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patron ³ British  

/ ˈpætərn /

noun

1. a variant spelling of pattern 2

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• patrondom
  noun
• patronship
  noun
• patronal
  adjective
• patronless
  adjective
• patronly
  adjective
• subpatronal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• patrones
  plural
• patrons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of patron¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Medieval Latin, Latin patrōnus “legal protector, advocate” ( Medieval Latin: “lord, master”), derivative of pater “father”; see pattern

Origin of patrón²

First recorded in 1860–65; from Spanish; see patron ( def. )

Explanation

A patron supports someone or something. A patron of a business supports the business by being a loyal customer. A patron of the arts helps support starving artists — financially, not with food rations. The word patron comes from the Latin pater or patr- meaning "father." Think of how a father is supposed to financially support his kids. A patron of the arts is someone who shows his appreciation or support for the arts by donating money to arts organizations. And a patron of the Red Lobster is a frequent customer who can be seen in the same corner booth every Sunday night, noshing on cheddar biscuits.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

patron patrón patrones patrons

Oklahoma City has treated McClendon and Larry Nichols as something like patron saints.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

Accompanied by her sidekick and netherworld patron King Grimsquawk – a crowned raven-baby holding a scepter – Workman conjures up one of the funniest small-screen comedies that isn’t officially on TV.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

Fisher was a long-standing patron of Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary in North Somerset and also supported many animal charities, including Battersea Cats and Dogs Home.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

In recent days, Brazil's beloved patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida, depicted as a Black Madonna, became the focus as rumours erupted that Flavio Bolsonaro planned to strip her of her post if elected.

From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026

“I guess we should get back to beating the bushes, then. Find my patron and find you some answers.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

The year she was killed, Blanco was played by Luces Velásquez in the Colombian telenovela “Pablo Escobar, el patrón del mal.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

At first the company’s cash payments, infrastructure projects and job offers seemed like a good alternative to the old way of life under a land-owning patrón.

From Washington Post

Benito's patrón would not welcome us with empty pockets.

From Rebel Spurs by Andre Norton

Polo pros and local patrones describe Villegas as a good-natured man who never lost his temper, even during rough-and-tumble matches.

From Time Magazine Archive

Villegas and Cummings met two years ago at the Willow Run Polo school, a magnet for the Argentine players, many of whom are boarded on farms owned by the people they call their patrones.

From Time Magazine Archive

Whilest they and their patrones for them, require dominion and empire aboue men.

From The First Blast of the Trumpet against the monstrous regiment of Women by Edward Arber

But of the xii. other vertues, I 130 make xii. other knights the patrones, for the more variety 131 of the history: Of which these three bookes contayn three.

From The Faerie Queene — Volume 01 by Edmund Spenser

But of the xii. other vertues I make xii. other knights the patrones, for the more variety of the history: of which these three bookes contayn three.

From Prefaces and Prologues to Famous Books with Introductions, Notes and Illustrations by Charles William Eliot

For patrons, having their hair and makeup done is about more than appearances, says manager Daryna Markhonos.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

Actor Dennis Haskins was a staple at the now-shuttered Dimples karaoke bar in Burbank — so much so that many patrons thought he owned it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The result was a lengthy bar meeting in which patrons, including “a gender-expansive lesbian” who “uses he/him pronouns,” berated one owner to tears.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

My husband enjoyed humble pleasures, and he had two favorite fast-casual restaurants where the food was good, the patrons were kind, and the staff were simply salt-of-the-earth people.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026

At once, they both straightened, and all around them the patrons looked up.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• advocate
• backer
• benefactor
• fan
• friend
• leader
• philanthropist
• sponsor
• supporter
• well-wisher