padroni

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
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
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
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
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