customer
/ˈkʌs.tə.mə/ noun
Forms customers
- noun (obsolete) A habitual patron, regular purchaser, returning client; a person or company who has a custom of buying from a particular business.
- noun A person or company who purchases or receives a product or service from a business or merchant or intends to do so. “Every person who passes by is a potential customer.”
- noun (informal) A person, especially one engaging in some sort of interaction with others.
- noun (India, historical) A native official who exacted customs duties.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English custumer, from Old French coustumier, costumier (compare modern French coutumier), from Medieval Latin custumarius (“a toll-gatherer, tax-collector”, noun), from custumarius (“pertaining to custom or customs”, adjective), from custuma (“custom, tax”). More at custom. By surface analysis, custom + -er.
Webster’s 1913
- noun One who collect customs; a toll gatherer. [Obs.]
- noun One who regularly or repeatedly makes purchases of a trader; a purchaser; a buyer.
Etymology [A doublet of customary, a.: cf. LL. custumarius toll gatherer. See Custom.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “customer”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details