patronal

P3A1T1R1O1N1A1L1
/pəˈtɹəʊnəl/

adjective

patron; protecting; favouring

Scrabble 10

Meanings

adjectivepatronal (comparative more patronal, superlative most patronal)

comparative more patronal · superlative most patronal

  1. patron; protecting; favouring

    Nor has the state lost its patronal role, with ministries of culture and publicly funded arts bodies sustaining the cultural economy.

    2013, Michael Bhaskar, The Content Machine
    1 more example

    Lest the name thereof being discovered unto their enemies, their penates and patronal god might be called forth by charms and incantations.

    1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC
  2. Pertaining to a strong authoritarian leader who controls access to resources.

    In considering how the preceding analysis relates to the rest of the world, one can think of the post-Soviet countries as providing something like a pristine context in which to study the fundamental characteristics of patronal politics.

    2015, Henry E. Hale, Patronal Politics, →ISBN, page 455
    2 more examples

    Aristocratic involvement in the development of towns and cities in nineteenth-entury Britain has long been recognised, but much less attention has been paid to the character of the patronal relationships which existed between aristocratic urban landlords and their tenantry.

    1988, Dietrich Denecke, Gareth Shaw, Alan R H Baker, Urban Historical Geography: Recent Progress in Britain and Germany, →ISBN

    Manumission loyalty also offers us insights into how ancient conversion might look in a context of patronage and benefaction, for slaves did not change patrons when they attained their freedom, but rather underwent a considerable change within the patronal relationship.

    2012, Zeba A. Crook, Reconceptualising Conversion, →ISBN

Origin

  1. Latinpatrōnālis
  2. Englishpatronal

From Latin patrōnālis. Compare French patronal.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

patronal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patronal

MLA

“patronal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patronal. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “patronal,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patronal.

Source: patronal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.