▪ I. sponsor, n.
(ˈspɒnsə(r))
[a. L. sponsor, agent-noun f. spondēre: cf. sponsion.]
1. Eccl. One who answers for an infant at baptism; a godfather or godmother.
| 1651 Baxter Inf. Bapt. 153 How could the Sponsors be indangered while there were Parents? a 1700 Evelyn Diary 6 Oct. 1687, I was godfather to Sir John Chardin's sonn... The Earle of Bath and Countesse of Carlisle, the other Sponsors. 1737 Gentl. Mag. VII. 21/1 It is well known, that the Business of Sponsors at Baptism is in general brought to a very scandalous Pass. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. iii. 959 Here, with an infant, joyful sponsors come. 1850 R. I. Wilberforce Holy Baptism 103 The practice of requiring sponsors at Baptism is of ancient date. 1907 Verney Mem. II. 237 When her daughter was born nothing would satisfy Lady Abdy but that Sir Ralph should stand sponsor. |
| fig. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xxxiii, His Lordship..was a credit to his political sponsor. |
2. a. One who enters into an engagement, makes a formal promise or pledge, on behalf of another; a surety.
| 1677 Miége Fr. Dict. ii, Sponsor, or surety that under⁓taketh for another. 1681 J. Scott Chr. Life i. iv. (1684) 207 Our Mediator is called the Sponsor, or Surety of a better Covenant. 1741 C. Middleton Cicero viii. II. 197 Magius, oppressed with debts,..had been urging Marcellus, who was his sponsor for some part of them, to furnish him with money to pay the whole. 1800 Asiat. Ann. Reg. V. 58/1 Sponsors also are of two kinds, one for appearance, the other for payment. 1864 D. G. Mitchell Sev. Stor. 107, I found it requisite..to become sponsor for his good conduct. 1880 Muirhead Gaius iii. §118 The positions of sponsor and fidepromissor are much the same. Ibid. Dig. 535 All..who failed..to relieve sponsors (sureties) who had paid for them. |
b. One who stood surety for the appearance and good faith of either party in a trial by combat.
| 1825 Scott Talism. xxviii, The sponsors of both champions went, as was their duty, to see that they were duly armed, and prepared for combat. Ibid., The sponsors, heralds, and squires now retired to the barriers. |
3. transf. Of things (after sense 1 or 2).
| 1846 Landor Hellenics Wks. II. 486 We are what suns and winds and waters make us; The mountains are our sponsors. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit. Wks. (Bohn) III. 134 All the good days behind him are sponsors, who speak for him. 1889 Gretton Memory's Harkback 233 In Essex, especially, the aguish climate stood sponsor for the absence of clerics as a rule. |
4. One who pays, or contributes towards, the cost of a broadcast programme or other spectacle, spec. in return for commercial advertisement.
| 1931 P. Dixon Radio Writing 18 The sponsor wants a dramatic type of program and is willing to spend one thousand dollars a week for the program. 1953 Manch. Guardian Weekly 2 July 15/2 United States broadcasting started as a service of information and entertainment for the family accompanied by restrained acknowledgements to the sponsor before and after each programme. 1956 Auden & Kallman Magic Flute (1957) 57 To name a sponsor or to praise a brand. 1972 ‘E. Lathen’ Murder without Icing (1973) vii. 67 It is axiomatic in all sports coverage that the sponsor's time should never intrude on the action. |
▪ II. ˈsponsor, v.
[f. prec.]
1. trans. a. To be surety for, to favour or support strongly.
| 1884 L'pool Mercury 6 June 5/8 The eldest daughter, who has ever sponsored her father's cause. 1888 Standard 24 Feb. 5/1 The Company is to be most powerfully sponsored. |
b. To promote and support (a resolution, bill, etc.), esp. in a legislative assembly.
| 1961 Time 14 July 25/3 The U.A.R. forthwith sponsored a Security Council resolution. 1964 Ann. Reg. 1963 iii. ii. 152 Virtually the same resolution as had been vetoed in the Security Council was sponsored in the General Assembly by 44 nations. 1973 Daily Tel. 19 Nov. 3/3 Sir Gerald Nabarro..successfully sponsored legislation on clean air, coroners, oil burners, and thermal insulation. |
2. To pay, or contribute towards, the expenses of a radio or television programme, a performance or other event or work, spec. in return for advertising space or rights.
| 1931 F. A. Arnold Fourth Dimension x. 78 The travelogue type of program, sponsored by a tourist agency or a steamship company. 1931 P. Dixon Radio Writing 25 When an advertiser decides that the program's worth sponsoring. 1963 Amer. N. & Q. I. 67/1 Ohio State University and its Press deserve great credit for sponsoring the work through the English Department, the University Libraries, and the Graduate School. 1976 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts June 364/2 But a lot of them are sponsoring these concerts now, which are being broadcast regularly with the names of the sponsors. |
3. To support (someone) in a fund-raising activity by pledging a certain sum for each unit completed. Cf. sponsored ppl. a. 2.
| 1967 Oxfam News Jan. 2/3 Over {pstlg}35,000 was raised by young people..sponsored by friends at a penny a mile or more. Ibid. June 6/2 Marathon marches..are a big money-spinner... Everyone who walks collects threepence per completed mile from a friend who has sponsored them. |