patronage

patronage is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 5 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.Business custom. [Commercial Cant]
  2. 2.Guardianship, as of a saint; tutelary care. Addison.
  3. 3.The right of nomination to political office; also, the offices, contracts, honors, etc., which a public officer may bestow by favor.
  4. 4.(Eng. Law) The right of presentation to church or ecclesiastical benefice; advowson. Blackstone.
  5. 5.To act as a patron of; to maintain; to defend. [Obs.] Shak.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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