padrone

Forms

padrone m (plural padroni, feminine padrona)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin patrōnus (“protector, patron”), a derivative of pater (“father”).^[2][3][4][1] In Rome the patron was the powerful man in relation to those he protected: the former master of freed slaves, the advocate of a client.^[3] DELI quotes Migliorini's view that the sense “master” goes back to the late Roman patronage system, in which many people gave up their freedom and their tax burdens to become tenants of rich landowners, their patrons.^[2] The Latin noun was formed on the model of colōnus (“farmer”).^[5][1]

The Italian ending follows the nouns of the Latin third declension, and the voiced /d/ for Latin /t/ shows that the word spread through the northern dialects;^[4][6][7][8] DEI calls it a word of northern origin.^[4][6][7][8] It is Venetian paron, Friulian parôn, Sardinian padronu and Engadine padrun; further west it gave Occitan pairon (“father”), Catalan parró (“peasant”), and Spanish padrón and Portuguese padrão, which mean a register or a standard.^[9][3] The learned doublet is patrono.^[1][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLIO's first record is in the Cremonese poet Ugo di Perso, of the 13th century, and its first sense is the master of a servant or squire.^[10] DELI's first dated sense is Dante's “absolute ruler” (1300–1313), and Dante also uses the word for a city's patron saint: I' fui de la città che nel Batista / mutò 'l primo padrone, “I was of the city that exchanged its first patron for the Baptist”.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The nautical sense, the owner and master of a ship, is old in the north: Medieval Latin patronus in Venice in 1255, Venetian paron in 1311, and padrone in Francesco da Barberino in 1314.^[2] The employer appears in Alberti (1437–1438) and San Bernardino, and the owner of a thing in Davanzati (before 1606).^[2] From the 16th century padrone also meant one who has full command of a subject, and padronanza came to mean thorough knowledge of a language or a field.^[2]

In the 20th century padronato named the employers as a social class (1958).^[2] English took padrone from Italian as a sea term in the 17th and 18th centuries, and, from 1860 for an Italian innkeeper and for a man who exploited Italian immigrants.^[8][11] German had Patron for the master of a ship from 1434.^[11]

Timeline

• 13th century – Ugo di Perso uses padrone.^[10]
• 1255 – Medieval Latin patronus is used at Venice for the master of a ship.^[2]
• 1300–1313 – Dante uses padrone for an absolute ruler.^[2]
• 1311 – Venetian paron is recorded.^[2]
• 1314 – Francesco da Barberino uses padrone for the master of a ship.^[2]
• Before 1370 – Padroneggiare is recorded.^[2]
• 1437–1438 – Alberti uses padrone for an employer.^[2]
• 1660 – English padrone is recorded as a sea term.^[8]
• 1860 – English padrone is used for an exploiter of immigrants.^[11]
• 1958 – Padronato is used for the employers as a class.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. owner: one who owns something: Il padrone del bar ci ha offerto il caffè.^[4][12][7]
2. padrone di casa: the landlord of a house or flat, or the host who receives guests.^[4][12]
3. The owner of an animal, who keeps and looks after it.^[4][12]
4. employer, boss: Ha chiesto un aumento al padrone.^{[4][12][7][1]}
5. Absolute ruler, master of a place or situation.^[4][7]
6. (also adjectival) In full control of oneself, or having full knowledge of a subject: Parla da padrone del mestiere.^[4][12]
7. Free to do something: Sei padrone di rifiutare.^[4][7]
8. (nautical) The master of a small vessel; also the owner of a ship.^[7][10]
9. (dated or humorous) A title of respect.^[12][7]

Word family

• padroneggiare
• spadroneggiare
• impadronirsi
• padronale
• padronanza
• padronato
• padroncino
• padronaggio
• padronesco
• sottopadrone

Related words

• patrono
• padre
• Latin patronus

Usage notes

The truncated form padron is placed before a name as a title for the head of a family in some regions.^[4][12] Padronissimo!, the superlative, means “you are perfectly free to”.^[4][7]

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 Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2718
9. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
11. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
12. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier