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patronize

[pey-truh-nahyz, pa‐]
verb (used with object), pa·tron·ized, pa·tron·iz·ing.
  1. to give (a store, restaurant, hotel, etc.) one's regular patronage; trade with.
  2. to behave in an offensively condescending manner toward: a professor who patronizes his students.
  3. to act as a patron toward (an artist, institution, etc.); support.
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Also especially British, pa·tron·ise.

Origin of patronize

First recorded in 1580–90; patron + -ize
Related formspa·tron·iz·a·ble, adjectivepa·tron·i·za·tion, nounpa·tron·iz·er, nounre·pa·tron·ize, verb (used with object), re·pa·tron·ized, re·pa·tron·iz·ing.trans·pa·tron·ize, verb (used with object), trans·pa·tron·ized, trans·pa·tron·iz·ing.un·pa·tron·iz·a·ble, adjectivewell-pa·tron·ized, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for patronised

Historical Examples

  • To the best of my judgment, they might be patronised out of the building in a month.

    The Uncommercial Traveller

    Charles Dickens

  • He came from places they had often not known about, but he patronised Lexham Gardens.

  • They happed to have hit upon the same saloon that Wyck patronised.

  • He thought him "a simple sort of fellow" who might be patronised; that was probably why he liked him.

    Virgin Soil

    Ivan S. Turgenev

  • It said that you was patronised by the naval and military, and that teas was provided.

    Merry-Garden and Other Stories

    Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

British Dictionary definitions for patronised

patronize

patronise

verb
  1. to behave or treat in a condescending way
  2. (tr) to act as a patron or patroness by sponsoring or bringing trade to
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Derived Formspatronizer or patroniser, noun
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 patronised

patronize

v.

1580s, "to act as a patron towards," from patron + -ize, or from Old French patroniser. Meaning "treat in a condescending way" is first attested 1797; sense of "give regular business to" is from 1801. Related: Patronized; patronizing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper