patroonship

== English == === Etymology === From patroon +‎ -ship. Compare Dutch patroonschap. Piecewise doublet of patronship. === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /pəˈtɹuːnʃɪp/ === Noun === patroonship (countable and uncountable, plural patroonships) (US, historical) The position or office of a patroon; landownership (originally of a Dutch colony). 2003 (revised), Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States, HarperCollins 2005, p. 211: It was a protest against the patroonship system, which went back to the 1600s when the Dutch ruled New York, a system where […] ‘a few families, intricately intermarried, controlled the destinies of three hundred thousand people and ruled in almost kingly splendor near two million acres of land.’ (US, historical) An estate run by a patroon, or under a similar system. [from 19th c.] ==== Synonyms ====