Definition of patron

• n. - One who protects, supports, or countenances; a defender.
• n. - A master who had freed his slave, but still retained some paternal rights over him.
• n. - A man of distinction under whose protection another person placed himself.
• n. - An advocate or pleader.
• n. - One who encourages or helps a person, a cause, or a work; a furtherer; a promoter; as, a patron of art.
• n. - One who has gift and disposition of a benefice.
• n. - A guardian saint. -- called also patron saint.
• n. - See Padrone, 2.
• v. t. - To be a patron of; to patronize; to favor.
• a. - Doing the duty of a patron; giving aid or protection; tutelary.