padrone

Noun

padrone (plural padrones or padroni)

1. A patron; a protector.
   • She had not the slightest intention of keeping the promises she had made to the padrone; she had resolved to lie stoutly as far as was necessary to make good her own and Beppo's escape.1878, Aadel Barnes Gustafson, “Beppo”, in Sunday Afternoon, volume 2, page 174
   • Whenever the padrone felt suspicious of any of the boys, he usually sent them out in company with Pietro, who acted as a spy, faithfully reporting all that happened to his principal.1902, Horatio Alger (Jr.) ·, Phil, the Fiddler, Or, The Story of a Young Street Musician, page 62
2. A landlord; the master of a large estate.
   • Dominedio! O Riverenza! how sadly must Ser Giovanni, my poor padrone, have lost his memory in this cruel long illness!1889, Walter Savage Landor, Havelock Ellis, The Pentameron: And Other Imaginary Conversations, page 89
   • The padrone, in imitation of a celebrated historian, sighed as a man, but obeyed as a landlord.1897, Morley Roberts, “A Travel-Picture”, in Lady's Realm, volume 2, page 412
3. The master of a small coaster in the Mediterranean.
   • The poor padrone or captain, in his red-tasselled cap, dingy-velvet jacket, and open-kneed breeches, had no sooner contrived to scramble up the side and reach teh quarter-deck, followed by a grinning midshipman, than he gave vent to all sorts of gesticulations and protestations explanatory of his...1850, “The Sunken Rock-A Tale of the Mediterranean”, in Chambers's Papers for the People, page 15
   • Whereupon Messrs. Gascoigne and Easy paid their bill and rose to depart, but the padrone informed them that he should like to see the colour of their money before they went on board.1906, Captain Marryat, Mr. Midshipman Easy, page 152
4. A man who imports, and controls the earnings of, Greek or Italian labourers, street musicians, child beggars, etc.
   • But the padrone does not employ the men alone and upon his own responsibility . He works together with the Italian banker, who is a somewhat more responsible party than the padrone; at least the men have more faith in him, because it is through him that they send money back to Italy, and with whom...1901, Reports of the Industrial Commission on Immigration- Volume 15, page 433
   • As a natural consequence of what might be called this friendship the laborer turns to the banker or padrone for advice as to work, and he will go where the padrone sends him .1904, Frances Kellor, Out of Work, page 205
5. A mafia boss.
   • For along the dark drive leading up to the main house was a bizarre collection of statuary: likenesses of the entire Boiardo family, their busts and nameplates array on pilasters surreounding the padrone of the dynasty, a youthful Richie the Boot, outfitted in formal riding wear, sitting astride a...1993, Robert Rudolf, Robert Rudolph, Mafia Wiseguys: The Mob That Took on the Feds, page 46
   • The protection which the mafioso provides for the property of his padrone is principally directed against ladri and banditi; that is, against elements wishing, within the existing system, to improve their personal prospects.1998, Henner Hess, Mafia & Mafiosi: Origin, Power and Myth, page 147