n. & v.
n. 1 a repeated decorative design on wallpaper, cloth, a carpet, etc. 2 a regular or logical form, order, or arrangement of parts (behaviour pattern; the pattern of one's daily life). 3 a model or design, e.g. of a garment, from which copies can be made. 4 an example of excellence; an ideal; a model (a pattern of elegance). 5 a wooden or metal figure from which a mould is made for a casting. 6 a sample (of cloth, wallpaper, etc.). 7 the marks made by shots, bombs, etc. on a target or target area. 8 a random combination of shapes or colours.
v.tr. 1 (usu. foll. by after, on) model (a thing) on a design etc. 2 decorate with a pattern. pattern bombing bombing over a large area, not on a single target.
[ ME patron (see PATRON): differentiated in sense and spelling since the 16th-17th c. ]