patronize

People patronizing (sense 2) a supermarket in w:Shingū, WakayamaShingū, Wakayama, Japan

Meaning

Verb

To act as a patron of; to defend, protect, or support.
To make oneself a customer of a business, especially a regular customer.
To assume a tone of unjustified superiority toward; to talk down to, to treat condescendingly.
To blame, to reproach.

Origin

From patron + -ize; or from Old French patroniser, from Medieval Latin patronisāre ("to lead a galley as patron").

Modern English dictionary

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