padrone

[ puh-droh-nee, -ney; Italian pah-draw-ne ]
/ pəˈdroʊ ni, -neɪ; Italian pɑˈdrɔ nɛ /

noun, plural pa·dro·nes [puh-droh-neez, -neyz] /pəˈdroʊ niz, -neɪz/, Italian pa·dro·ni [pah-draw-nee] /pɑˈdrɔ ni/.

a master; boss.
an employer, especially of immigrant laborers, who provides communal housing and eating arrangements, controls the allocation of pay, etc., in a manner that exploits the workers.
an innkeeper.

Origin of padrone

From Italian, dating back to 1660–70; see origin at patron

OTHER WORDS FROM padrone

pa·dro·nism [puh-droh-niz-uh m] /pəˈdroʊ nɪz əm/, noun

Example sentences from the Web for padroni

British Dictionary definitions for padroni

padrone
/ (pəˈdrəʊnɪ) /

noun plural -nes or -ni (-niː)

the owner or proprietor of an inn, esp in Italy
US an employer who completely controls his workers, esp a man who exploits Italian immigrants in the US

Word Origin for padrone

C17: from Italian; see patron 1