patronize

Definition

To act as a patron of; to defend, protect, or support.

Etymology

From patron + -ize (verb ending); or from Old French patroniser, from Medieval Latin patronizāre (“to lead a galley as patron”). Piecewise doublet of patternize.

Example Sentences

• "A great perſonage aſked lord S——h, how the citizens came to patronize ſuch a profligate as Wilkes. His lordſhip replied, "They would patronize the devil, if he aſſiſted them to pull down a miniſter.""
• "But she is totally devoid of elegant accomplishments, excepting the knowledge of French and Italian, which she acquired from the most grotesque monster you ever beheld, whom my father has engaged as a kind of librarian, and whom he patronizes, I believe, to show his defiance of the world's opinion."
• "We ask her [the government] to patronize scholars as she does her law makers. We ask her to patronize pioneers in science as she does pioneers in the woods. We ask her to support the officers of colleges as she does the officers of state, her governor, her secretary, and her judges; and then the college hall may be thrown open as it should be to every poor youth in the community free of expense."

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