"Pron" - short form of some title.

[Barbarossa]

Can anyone explain what "PRON" with a cursive line above the word is short for?

It appears before male names among records from Croatian church books - for the Italians born and living in Cherso on Cres Island.


It seems obviously some title like Sig. Don. is but I'm not sure what the could be.

[Barbarossa]

TO AID IN CLARITY, HERE'S A BIT OF MORE DETAIL IN SOME EXAMPLES THAT MIGHT HELP :

the entry of Sept 8 1775, shows the use of the short form, twice before the father's name and mother's father's name of this birth record .

you can find it here on the left facing page :
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1 ... c=2040054/

Sorry, there's no other way I can find to show some examples, as image insertion doesn't work

Alternate example, here on right facing page for Sept 8 1779 birth (coincidence!) - first entry READS "Pron" Francesco and "Pron" Zuane (Zuane in short form also - which is the medieval Venetian form of "Giovanni" - Similarly you'll see "Zorzi" for Giorgio and "Zuana" for Giovanna/Giovannina)

https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1 ... cc=2040054

I can only offer guesses as to that the short form has some root in old Venetian language, or perhaps influence from the Slavic proximity of Cherso - as these records, though in Italian, are from Croatian church books.

[mmogno]

Pron = Paron (in veneto) = Padrone (in italiano)

See
https://www.tuttogenealogia.it/index.ph ... 807#119807
and
https://books.google.it/books?id=DAlfAA ... 20&f=false

[Barbarossa]

That's awesome, I guess my suspicion was close about the Venetian origin, but I had no clue what to search on really to figure out what it referred to. Greatly appreciated ! Thanks Master mmogno, aka ?

or I guess we can call you Padrone too !! (although I see this defined to include "mafia boss" as well as Patron or Master ... lol)