Etymologically
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patron

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pa.tʁɔ̃/[1]

Forms

patron m (plural patrons, feminine patronne)[1] Old French patrun; the feminine was patroine (1284), then patrone (Académie 1694–1740) and patronne since 1762.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin patrōnus (“patron (opposed to client); protector of the plebeians; defender; former master of a freedman”), from pater (“father”).[2][3][4][5][6] Medieval Latin used “patronus” for a patron saint (about 950).[2][3] The sense “master of a ship” (1337) was taken from Italian padrone, of the same origin.[2][4]

Cognate with Old Occitan patron, Catalan patró and Spanish patrón.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, in the Life of Edward the Confessor (mid-13th century), is the saint under whose invocation a church is placed; the GLLF and the Grand Robert date the word to 1119, in Philippe de Thaon, in the sense of a model.[2][3][8][5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a protector (late 13th century) and the master of a serf (about 1265); by a new borrowing from Latin, the patron of a freedman or client in ancient Rome (Amyot, 1559).[2][3] Several senses share the idea of a person in command: the skipper of a boat (1337), the master of a house (Cotgrave, 1611, “low and burlesque” for Richelet in 1680, usual again in the 19th century), an employer (1812) and the head of a business (1832).[2][3][9] From the workers' point of view it took the sense “capitalist” (1848).[2][3] A medical patron heads a hospital department (1901), and in Africa patron is a form of address to someone who may pay for a service.[2][3]

From the idea of a guide came the sense “model, pattern” (1312 for Bloch and Wartburg), now mainly a dressmaker's paper pattern (1690); taillé sur le même patron means “cut from the same cloth”.[4][10] English pattern goes back to the same word.[7][11]

Timeline

  • Mid-13th century – A patron saint.[2][3]
  • c. 1265 – The master of a serf.[2]
  • 1312 – A model.[4]
  • 1337 – The skipper of a boat, after Italian.[2]
  • 1559 – The Roman patron of a client, Amyot.[2]
  • 1611 – The master of a house, Cotgrave.[2]
  • 1690 – A dressmaker's pattern.[10]
  • 1812 – An employer.[2][9]
  • 1848 – “Capitalist”.[2]
  • 1901 – The head of a hospital department.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A boss, employer; the head of a business (feminine patronne).[1][10]
  2. The owner or manager of a café, restaurant or shop: la patronne.[3]
  3. The head of a group or department, (medicine) the head of a hospital department.[1][3]
  4. A patron saint: saint Éloi, patron des orfèvres.[10][2]
  5. (nautical) The skipper of a boat.[2][3]
  6. (historical) In ancient Rome, the protector of clients and freedmen.[1][2]
  7. A pattern, template, especially for sewing: un patron de robe.[1][10]

Word family

  • patronage
  • patronal
  • patronat
  • patronner
  • patronnesse
  • patronnet

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 25a
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)