Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An owner or manager, especially of an inn; a proprietor.
  • noun A man who exploitatively employs or finds work for Italian immigrants in America.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A master; especially, a person, generally an Italian, who owns hand-organs and lets them out to itinerant players, or who systematically employs destitute children to beg for his benefit; also, an Italian labor-contractor; one who lets out Italian laborers in a body.
  • noun In Italy: The prime minister of the papal curia.
  • noun The landlord of an inn.
  • noun The captain or master of a Mediterranean trader.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A patron; a protector.
  • noun The master of a small coaster in the Mediterranean.
  • noun A man who imports, and controls the earnings of, Italian laborers, street musicians, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A patron; a protector.
  • noun The master of a small coaster in the Mediterranean.
  • noun A man who imports, and controls the earnings of, Italian labourers, street musicians, etc.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an employer who exploits Italian immigrants in the U.S.
  • noun an owner or proprietor of an inn in Italy

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Italian, from Latin patrōnus, patron; see patron.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Italian. See patron.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word padrone.

Examples

  • He must be down there on that beach searching, calling his padrone's name, perhaps.

    The Call of the Blood Robert Smythe Hichens 1907

  • He said he did not believe the padrone was a bad fellow, but he liked to take advantage of a stranger when he could; we all did.

    Ragged Lady — Complete William Dean Howells 1878

  • He said he did not believe the padrone was a bad fellow, but he liked to take advantage of a stranger when he could; we all did.

    Ragged Lady — Volume 2 William Dean Howells 1878

  • The padrone is his uncle, and treats him better than the rest of us.

    Phil, the Fiddler Horatio Alger 1865

  • Such a leader is almost always under the patronage of a "boss" in New York or a 'padrone' in Italy, who uses his influence to protect the members of the gang when in legal difficulties and find them jobs when out of work and in need of funds.

    Courts and Criminals Arthur Cheney Train 1910

  • He was using it to pay off the padrone for your ticket to America.

    Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

  • Lori Eanes for The Wall Street Journal Dungeness crab deviled eggs with chipotle aioli "This is traditional fare, with a twist," says Tisha Hilario, a 46-year-old software trainer at a nearby federal building, after finishing a lunch that included a $13 mushroom quesadilla with Oaxaca cheese, pickled padrone peppers and scallions.

    Bocanova 2011

  • “But, but—the padrone gave us the money to come here,” Bella said.

    Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

  • He was a commited socialist who ran his ranch like a kindly paternalistic padrone.

    Interview With Historian and Writer Clarice Stasz 2010

  • “But, but—the padrone gave us the money to come here,” Bella said.

    Uprising Margaret Peterson Haddix 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.