Maecenas

//mʌɪˈsiːnəs// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A generous benefactor; specifically, a patron of literature or art.

    "[…] thou art his dear and loving friend, good and gracious Lord and Master, his Maecenas."

Example

More examples

"[…] thou art his dear and loving friend, good and gracious Lord and Master, his Maecenas."

Etymology

From Middle French mecenas, and its source, Latin Maecēnās (“literary patron”), from the name of Gaius Maecenas (c. 70–8 BCE), Roman statesman and patron of Horace and Virgil.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.