patron French · revision 17282

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1250, Vie d'Édouard le Confesseur (patrun)|origins=la pater}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pa.tʁɔ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''patron''' ''m'' (plural patrons, feminine patronne)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|patrun]]; the feminine was ''patroine'' (1284), then ''patrone'' (Académie 1694–1740) and ''patronne'' since 1762.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|patrōnus|t=patron (opposed to client); protector of the plebeians; defender; former master of a freedman]], from [[m|la|pater|t=father]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|8, 25a) Medieval Latin used “patronus” for a patron saint (about 950).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The sense “master of a ship” (1337) was taken from [[it|padrone]], of the same origin.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Cognate with [[pro|patron]], [[ca|patró]] and [[es|patrón]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==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.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==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).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) 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).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) From the workers' point of view it took the sense “capitalist” (1848).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) 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.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ 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”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007) [[en|pattern]] goes back to the same word.^(Littré 1873)^(AND)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Mid-13th century – A patron saint.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1265 – The master of a serf.^(TLFi)

+ * 1312 – A model.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1337 – The skipper of a boat, after Italian.^(TLFi)

+ * 1559 – The Roman patron of a client, Amyot.^(TLFi)

+ * 1611 – The master of a house, Cotgrave.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – A dressmaker's pattern.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1812 – An employer.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+ * 1848 – “Capitalist”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1901 – The head of a hospital department.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|boss]], [[m|en|employer]]; the head of a business (feminine ''patronne'').^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # The owner or manager of a café, restaurant or shop: ''la patronne''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # The head of a group or department, ''(medicine)'' the head of a hospital department.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A [[m|en|patron saint]]: ''saint Éloi, patron des orfèvres''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(nautical)'' The skipper of a boat.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(historical)'' In ancient Rome, the protector of clients and freedmen.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # A [[m|en|pattern]], template, especially for sewing: ''un patron de robe''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[patronage]]

+ * [[patronal]]

+ * [[patronat]]

+ * [[patronner]]

+ * [[patronnesse]]

+ * [[patronnet]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[père]]

+ * [[la|patrōnus]]

+ * [[en|pattern]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}