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| pa·tron [ páytrən ] (plural pa·trons) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. regular customer: a customer, especially a regular one, of a shop or business
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2. sponsor: a giver of money or other support to somebody or something, especially in the arts
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3. Roman slave master: in ancient Rome, somebody who had given a slave his or her freedom but still retained some rights over the former slave
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| [14th century. Via French< Latin patronus "protector" < pater "father"] |
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  pa·tron·al adjective |
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