patrão

Forms

patrão m (plural patrões, feminine patroa, feminine plural patroas)^[1] Houaiss records patrom in 1392 and patroões in the 15th century.^[2] The feminine is patroa: Cunha has padrõa in the 13th century, patrona in the 16th and patroa in 1813.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin patrōnus (“protector, patron”).^[2][3][1] Houaiss places it between the popular doublet padrão and the learned patrono, and Nascentes calls it semi-learned, while Aurélio speaks of a popular development.^[2][4][5] The DLP and Porto Editora take it through French patron.^[6][7]

The same Latin word is Italian padrone (“master”) and Spanish padrón (“standard, register”); Italian patrono and the French word are learned.^[8] The Latin noun is formed from pater (“father”) on the model of colōnus (“farmer, settler”).^[9][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lorenzo's first record is a document of 1388 on the crews of ships, which names o capitam e patrões e alcaides “the captain and the masters and the governors”.^[10] Houaiss's first date is 1392, spelt patrom.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Barbosa (1611) has patrão da nao “master of a ship” beside the patron.^[11] Morais (1789) lists the patron saint of a kingdom or town, the master of a boat, the patrão-mor who inspected the building of ships, and the master of a shop in relation to his clerks and servants.^[12] The sense “employer” is now the main one.^[2][1]

In Brazil the word is also used for the owner of a rubber plantation and, in Rio Grande do Sul, of a cattle estate, and as a form of address, meu patrão.^[2][13][14] Silva Bastos records patrão grande in São Tomé for the owner of a plantation.^[15]

Timeline

• 1388 – patrões in a document on ships' crews.^[10]
• 1392 – Houaiss's first record, spelt patrom.^[2]
• 14th century – Cunha's date for the word.^[3]
• 1611 – Barbosa lists patrão da nao.^[11]
• 1789 – Morais records the master of a shop and the patrão-mor.^[12]
• 1813 – first record of the feminine patroa.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The owner or head of a business, in relation to its staff; an employer: O patrão deu folga a todos na sexta-feira.^[2][1]
2. (Brazil) The owner of a rubber plantation (seringal).^[2][13]
3. The head of a public office.^[2][5]
4. The master of a house, in relation to the servants.^[2][5]
5. A protector, patron (patrono); a patron saint.^[2][1]
6. (informal) A form of address, as in meu patrão.^[2][1]
7. (nautical) The skipper of a small rowing or motor boat.^[2][1][16]

Word family

• patroa
• patrão-mor

Related words

• patrono
• padrão
• padroeiro
• patronal
• patronato
• Latin patrōnus
• Spanish patrón

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. patrão
3. ^ a b c d Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. patrão
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. patrão
5. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. patrão
6. ^ Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. patrão
7. ^ Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 6974
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 6300
9. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. patrōnus
10. ^ a b Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. patrom
11. ^ a b Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. patrão
12. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 2, 170
13. ^ a b Michaelis: Moderno Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, São Paulo: Melhoramentos (online as Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa, https://michaelis.uol.com.br), p. s.v. patrão
14. ^ Schlee, Aldyr Garcia (2019), Dicionário da Cultura Pampeana Sul-Rio-Grandense, 2 vols., Pelotas: Fructos do Paiz, p. s.v. patrão
15. ^ Silva Bastos, José Timóteo da (1912), Diccionario etymologico, prosodico e orthographico da lingua portugueza, Lisboa: Parceria António Maria Pereira, p. s.v. patrão
16. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. patrão