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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  

[pey-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, pəˈtrəʊnəl /

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

The Catholic church is deeply entrenched in Poland's national identity and the Virgin Mary is considered the country's patron and protector, even as it undergoes one of the fastest rates of secularisation worldwide.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

After the animal fell to the table, one patron grabbed it with a towel and took it to the Humane Society in Oceanside.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Analysts said the visit was an effort to reassert that Beijing, not Moscow, remains North Korea’s principal patron.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

She also became a patron of the charity Brain Tumour Research.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

For the King, or at least this is how Malory interprets him, was the patron saint of chivalry.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

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

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

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

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

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 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

Rice saw an opportunity in the retro tech to get new people into the library or encourage existing patrons to explore other departments or collections.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

He acknowledges that patrons don't want to see flies when they're purchasing food or drinks to consume.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

His sister said the patrons were like an extended family.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

"I felt terrible," he said, full of regret that he did not tell patrons to evacuate at the first sign of fire.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Even some patrons, waitstaff, and cooks snuck out to see what the commotion was all about and then joined in the “Mira!” chant fest.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

Related Words

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