Roman slaves would have called their masters dominus. Once they became freedmen, the change would depend on how they became free. Once the slave was freed, the master would become a patronus (patron) and the slave would become his cliens (client). The client would return to the home to pay homage to their patron as gratitude for being manumitted, but otherwise typically would leave the household. Many freedmen became traders, artisans, or shopkeepers. There were also a number of freedmen who would simply stay on at their patron's house and preform the same job they did before.

Patrons, on the other hand, did not have the powers they did as master of the ex-slave. They could not force the freedman to do more labor than reasonable, to not marry, or even to prevent the freedman from rivaling the patron in their business. The patron would typically act as a sponsor and could help the freedman maintain a certain standard of living or even use their influence to help their ex-slave start their career.