patrón
[pah-trawn]
- (in Mexico and the southwestern U.S.) a boss; employer.
Show More
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
patron1
- a person, esp a man, who sponsors or aids artists, charities, etc; protector or benefactor
- a customer of a shop, hotel, etc, esp a regular one
- See patron saint
- (in ancient Rome) the protector of a dependant or client, often the former master of a freedman still retaining certain rights over him
- Christianity a person or body having the right to present a clergyman to a benefice
Show More
Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Latin patrōnus protector, from pater father
patron2
- a man, who owns or manages a hotel, restaurant, or bar
Show More
patron3
- Irish a variant spelling of pattern 2
Show More
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for patrón
patron
n.
"a lord-master, a protector," c.1300, from Old French patron "patron, protector, patron saint" (12c.) and directly from Medieval Latin patronus "patron saint, bestower of a benefice, lord, master, model, pattern," from Latin patronus "defender, protector, former master (of a freed slave); advocate," from pater (genitive patris) "father" (see father (n.)). Meaning "one who advances the cause" (of an artist, institution, etc.), usually by the person's wealth and power, is attested from late 14c.; "commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery" [Johnson]. Commercial sense of "regular customer" first recorded c.1600. Patron saint (1717) originally was simply patron (late 14c.).
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper