Patronage
Patronage , noun
[French patronage. Compare Late Latin patronaticum, and Latin patronatus.]
1.
Special countenance or support; favor, encouragement, or aid, afforded to a person or a work; as, the patronage of letters; patronage given to an author.
2.
Business custom. [Commercial Cant]
3.
Guardianship, as of a saint; tutelary care. — Addison
4.
The right of nomination to political office; also, the offices, contracts, honors, etc., which a public officer may bestow by favor.
5.
(Eng. Law) The right of presentation to church or ecclesiastical benefice; advowson. — Blackstone
Patronage , transitive verb
To act as a patron of; to maintain; to defend. [Obsolete] — Shakespeare