# client

Pronunciation: say "KLY-uhnt" /ˈklaɪ.ənt/

## Noun

1. Someone who buys or receives goods or services from a business.
   - Simple: A person who buys or receives goods or services from a business.
   - _The salon offers returning clients a discount on their next visit._
   - _Every client who signs up this month gets free delivery._
2. The role of a computer application or system that requests or consumes services provided by another system acting as a server.
   - Simple: A computer program or device that asks a server for information or services.
   - _The desktop client syncs files with the company's cloud storage._
   - _Web browsers act as clients, sending requests to servers around the world._
3. Ellipsis of client state. — Ellipsis of client state.
   - Simple: Short form of client state. Use it when talking about a country that depends on a stronger country.
   - _Rome turned the conquered kingdom into a client rather than a province._
   - _The treaty reduced the once-proud kingdom to a client, its foreign policy dictated from abroad._
4. In ancient Rome, a retainer or follower associated with a particular gens, or clan.
   - Simple: In ancient Rome, a person who depended on a powerful family and served it in return for protection.
   - _As a client of the Claudii, he could count on the family's support in any lawsuit._
   - _Wealthy senators arrived at the Forum trailed by dozens of clients._

## Origin

Latin "cliēns", possibly related to "clinare" ("to lean"), reached Middle English as "client" by way of Anglo-Norman "clyent" and Old French "client".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/client (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).