patron

1. (historical, Roman law) A protector of a dependent, especially a master who had freed a slave but still retained some paternal rights.Romanhistorical

2. (UK, ecclesiastical) One who has gift and disposition of a benefice.UK

3. (nautical) A padrone.

4. (obsolete or historical) A property owner, a landlord, a master. (Compare patroon.)Examples: "Half-a-dozen little boys carried it to the inn, where I had to explain to the patron, in my best Spanish, that we wanted a carriage to go to the baths, seven leagues off."; "[...] would obtain permission from the West India Company to settle in certain areas in the New World and cultivate the land. Sometimes absentee patrons would give the colony to a group of interested persons and the patrons would finance ..."historicalobsolete