patronize

[pey-truh-nahyz, pa‐]

verb (used with object), pa·tron·ized, pa·tron·iz·ing.

to give (a store, restaurant, hotel, etc.) one's regular patronage; trade with.

to behave in an offensively condescending manner toward: a professor who patronizes his students.

to act as a patron toward (an artist, institution, etc.); support.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for patronised

Historical Examples of patronised

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.
The Wings of the Dove, Volume 1 of 2
Henry James
They happed to have hit upon the same saloon that Wyck patronised.
Australia Revenged
Boomerang
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

to behave or treat in a condescending way

(tr) to act as a patron or patroness by sponsoring or bringing trade to

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

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.