client English · revision 4576

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1393|origins=la cliens}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈklaɪ.ənt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|client]], [[bor|xno|clyent]] (1306),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and directly [[bor|la|cliēns|t=follower, retainer, dependant]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The Latin word is usually explained as “one who leans on another”, related to clīnāre “to bend, incline”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*ḱley-|alt=*klei-|t=to lean]].^(Etymonline) Hoad and the NODE instead take it as a variant of cluēns, the present participle of cluēre “to hear, obey”.^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) It is related to [[clientele]] and possibly to [[lean]] and [[incline]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One under the protection or patronage of another, a dependant: 1393 in the OED,^(OED 1989) the late 14th century in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) A lawyer's client is probably before 1387 in Barnhart, in Piers Plowman,^(Barnhart 1988) and 1413 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In ancient Rome a client was a plebeian under the protection of a patrician, his patronus;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) in medieval English the word reflected the feudal hierarchy of dependants.^(Cresswell 2021) The lawyer's client came from French use.^(Cresswell 2021) From about 1600 the word was extended to anyone who employs a professional or business person, a customer (1608, in Shakespeare's Pericles).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) A person helped by a social worker is from 1925,^(OED 1989) and a ''client state'', dependent on a larger power, from 1919.^(OED 1989) In computing, a client is a program or machine that receives services from a server.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * a. 1387 – one who engages a lawyer.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1393 – a dependant under a patron.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1557 – a Roman plebeian under a patrician.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1608 – a customer of any professional.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1919 – ''client state''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1925 – a person helped by a social worker.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person or organization that uses the services of a [[lawyer]] or other professional.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[customer]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A person helped by a [[social worker]] or agency.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(computing)'' A program or computer that obtains services from a [[server]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(historical)'' A dependant under the protection of a [[patron]].^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[clientage]]

+ * [[cliental]]

+ * [[clientless]]

+ * [[nonclient]]

+ * [[client state]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[clientele]]

+ * [[climate]]

+ * [[cline]]

+ * [[incline]]

+ * [[lean]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}