LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

patrōnus

patrōnus m (genitive patrōnī)
Classical[paˈtroː.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[paˈtrɔː.nus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. a protector, patron
    […] tū optimus omnium patrōnusyou're the best patron of allc. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 49.7

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

vir potēns quī aliōs in iūdiciō et vītā dēfendit.
patrōnus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Urbs et Aedificia

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepatrōnuspatrōnī
genitivepatrōnīpatrōnōrum
dativepatrōnōpatrōnīs
accusativepatrōnumpatrōnōs
ablativepatrōnōpatrōnīs
vocativepatrōnepatrōnī

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

patronus (causae) (De Or. 2. 69)
counsel; advocate.

pā^trōnus, i, m. pater.
I. Lit., a protector, defender, patron (of individuals, or of cities and entire provinces; also, the former master of a freedman); PATRONVS SI CLIENTI FRAVDEM FECERIT SACER ESTO, Fragm. XII. Tab. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 6, 609; quot enim clientes circa singulos fuistis patronos, tot nunc, etc., Liv 6, 18, 6: ego me patronum profiteor plebis, id. 6, 18, 14; civitatum et nationum, Cic. Off. 1, 11, 35; id. Pis. 11, 25; cf.: tum conventus ille Capuae, qui me unum patronum adoptavit, etc., id. Sest. 4, 9; Inscr. A. U. C. 742, Marin. Fratr Arv. p. 782; see also Inscr. Orell. 956; 1079; 3056 sq.: patronus, defensor, custos coloniae, Cic. Sull. 21, 60; id. Div. in Caecil. 1, 2.—Of the former master of a freedman or freedwoman: volo me placere Philolachi, meo patrono, Plaut. Most. 1, 3, 11: civis Romani liberti hereditatem Lex XII. Tabularum patrono defert, si intestato sine suo herede libertus decesserit, Ulp. Fragm. tit. 29, § 1; cf. Gai. Inst. 3, 40; Cic. Fam. 13, 21, 2: corrupti in dominos servi, in patronos liberti, Tac. H. 2, 2.—
II. Transf., a defender before a court of justice, an advocate, pleader (syn.: advocatus, causidicus, procurator, cognitor): judicis est semper in causis verum sequi, patroni nonnumquam verisimile, etiamsi minus sit verum, defendere, Cic. Off. 2, 14, 51; id. de Or. 2, 69, 280: patronus alicui causae constitui, id. Mur. 2, 4; cf.: his de causis ego huic causae patronus exstiti, id. Rosc. Am. 2, 5; Lex. Servil. lin. 9: patronus partis adversae, Quint. 4, 1, 11; cf.: patronus adversarii, id. 4, 1, 11; Tac. Or. 1.—
B. In gen., a defender, advocate: eam legem a vestrorum commodorum patrono esse conscriptam, Cic. Agr. 3, 1, 3: foederum ac foederatorum, id. Balb. 10, 25: justitiae, id. Lael. 7 fin.: qui modo patronus nunc cupit esse cliens, Ov. A. A. 1, 88.—Comically: video ego te, propter malefacta qui es patronus parieti, i. e. standing like a patron in front of the wall (of one who, for fear of blows, places himself with his back to the wall, Plaut. Truc. 4, 3, 48; cf. id. Ps. 2, 2, 12. —As an affectionate and respectful form of address: mi patrone, immo potius mi pater, Plaut. Rud. 4, 8, 2; 16.

Origins

From pater, patris (“father”). Built according to the analogy of colōnus (“farner, colonist”). Leumann 1977 compares the formation of Ancient Greek υἱωνός (huiōnós, “grandson”) from υἱός (huiós, “son”).

Descendants
  • Catalanpatró
  • Englishpatronfrom Old French patrone
  • Englishpatternfrom Old French patrone
  • Frenchpatronfrom Old French patrone
  • GermanPatronfrom Middle High German patrōn
  • Italianpadrone
  • Italianpatrono
  • Portuguesepadrão
  • Portuguesepatrono
  • Portuguesepatrão

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesPatronusPatronus The act of manumission gave birth, as it were, to a free person, and created a new relation between the manumissor and the slave, which was a…

Quick answers

What does patrōnus mean in Latin?
patrōnus, a noun, means “a protector, patron”.
What is the genitive of patrōnus?
The genitive singular is patrōnī. patrōnus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce patrōnus?
In classical Latin, [paˈtroː.nʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [paˈtrɔː.nus].