client (French)
Where does "client" come from?
The French word 'client' is a learned borrowing from the Latin 'cliens,' which originally referred to a person under the protection or patronage of a superior. This Latin root may have roots in 'clinare,' meaning 'to lean,' suggesting someone who leans on another for support, or from a verb meaning 'to be named' or 'esteemed.' Over time, the concept evolved from a social dependent to the modern sense of a customer who purchases professional services or goods.
Full etymology tree
- client (French), 'client, retainer, follower (person who is under the patronage of someone else)'
- learned borrowing cliēns (Latin), 'customer'
- derived cluēns (Latin)
- derived clueō (Latin), 'to be called or named'
- inherited *kluēō (Proto-Italic), 'to be known'
- inherited *ḱl̥w-éh₁-ti (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *ḱlew- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to hear'
- inherited *ḱl̥w-éh₁-ti (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *kluēō (Proto-Italic), 'to be known'
- derived clueō (Latin), 'to be called or named'
- derived clīnō (Latin), 'to bend, incline'
- inherited *kleināō (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *ḱley- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to shelter, cover'
- derived *ḱel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to cover'
- inherited *ḱley- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to shelter, cover'
- inherited *kleināō (Proto-Italic)
- derived cluēns (Latin)
- learned borrowing cliēns (Latin), 'customer'
Ancestors
- cliens (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- cliënt (Dutch)
- client (Romanian)
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris