patron

[pey-truh n] /ˈpeɪ trən/
noun
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.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English < Medieval Latin, Latin patrōnus legal protector, advocate (Medieval Latin: lord, master), derivative of pater father. See pattern
Related forms
patronal, patronly, adjective
patrondom, patronship, noun
patronless, adjective
subpatronal, adjective

patrón

[pah-trawn] /pɑˈtrɔn/
noun, plural patrones
[pah-traw-nes] /pɑˈtrɔ nɛs/ (Show IPA). Spanish.
1.
(in Mexico and the southwestern U.S.) a boss; employer.
Examples from the web for patron
  • You simply grip the door handle, pull, step aside and let the patron in.
  • We create dishes, culinarily and visually balanced, and are not willing to change them on the whim of a patron.
  • Keeping a lab funded would be even more of a time-consuming beauty contest if every researcher had to find and woo a rich patron.
  • Today the French king is remembered as an inspired patron of the arts.
  • The term "patron" insults all four men, for it implies support far beyond that given or received.
  • He was hoping to find a post or a patron.
  • Assist patrons in person, via phone or electronically.
  • Joseph is the patron saint to many categories of people, including home sellers.
  • Members of nearby churches also take their patron saints in a procession.
  • The symbolism leaves little doubt about the allegiance of the carver's patron.
British Dictionary definitions for patron

patron1

/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
Derived Forms
patronal (pəˈtrəʊnəl) adjective
patronly, adjective
Word Origin
C14: via Old French from Latin patrōnus protector, from pater father

patron2

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

patron3

/ˈpætərn/
noun
1.
(Irish) a variant spelling of pattern2

pattern2

/ˈpætərn/
noun
1.
(Irish) an outdoor assembly with religious practices, traders' stalls, etc on the feast day of a patron saint
Word Origin
C18: variant of patron1; see pattern1
Word Origin and History for 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.).