patron English · revision 39900

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1300|origins=la pater}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈpeɪ.tɹən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|patroun]], [[bor|fro|patron|t=patron, protector, patron saint]], and directly [[der|la-med|patrōnus|t=patron saint, bestower of a benefice; lord, master; model, pattern]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|la|patrōnus|t=defender, protector, advocate; former master of a freed slave]],^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) formed from [[m|la|pater|t=father]] and a noun suffix.^(OED 2026)^(AHD 2024)^(Klein 1966) The Latin word was used for one who protects the interests of another, as a father does.^(Ayto 2005) The Anglo-Norman noun is recorded from 1113–19, at first for a model or pattern, and also for the holder of a benefice and a patron saint.^(AND)^(OED 2026) It is a doublet of [[pattern]] and [[patroon]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966)^(Weekley 1921) and is related to [[father]] and [[paternal]].^(Ayto 2005)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A person who has the right to present a clergyman to a church living, the holder of the advowson: about 1300.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Weekley notes that this was the earliest English sense, and that "patron saint" came rather later, in the 14th century.^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the late 14th century the word was used for a patron saint (Trevisa, before 1387), for an advocate or protector in ancient Rome, and for the founder of a religious order;^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) ''patron saint'' itself is recorded by 1717.^(Etymonline) About 1400 it could mean a lord or master, and an adviser.^(OED 2026) A person who supports a cause, an artist or a writer with money or influence is recorded from 1466,^(OED 2026) and Etymonline says this sense is clear by about 1600.^(Etymonline) Johnson (1755) famously defined a patron as "commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery".^(Johnson 1755)^(Etymonline) The commercial sense, a regular customer of a shop or theatre, appears in Ben Jonson's ''Volpone'' (1605–7).^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) In Irish English a ''patron'' was the festival or fair held on the day of a parish's patron saint,^(OED 2026)^(Wright 1898) and in North America the ''Patrons of Husbandry'' were a farmers' association (1870).^(OED 2026) The derivatives also moved toward the commercial: ''patronage'' meant regular custom from 1804, and ''patronize'' "to treat condescendingly" from 1797.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Weekley 1921)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – the holder of the right to a church living.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1387 – a patron saint; a protector in ancient Rome.^(OED 2026)

+ * c. 1400 – a lord or master.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1466 – a supporter of a person, cause or art.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1605–7 – a regular customer, in Jonson's ''Volpone''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)

+ * 1624 – verb: to act as patron to.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1717 – ''patron saint''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1841 – (Irish) a patron saint's day.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who supports an [[artist]], writer, [[charity]] or cause with money or influence: ''The duke was a generous patron of the theatre.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # A [[customer]], especially a regular one, of a shop, restaurant or hotel.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # A [[patron saint]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (Christianity) A person or body that has the right to present a clergyman to a [[benefice]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # (Roman history) A man who protected a [[client]] or a freed slave in return for certain services.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[patronal]]

+ * [[patronless]]

+ * [[patronize]]

+ * [[patron saint]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[patronage]]

+ * [[patroness]]

+ * [[pattern]]

+ * [[patroon]]

+ * [[padrone]]

+ * [[paternal]]

+ * [[patriarch]]

+ * [[matron]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}