Added 4 October 2026
customer
/ˈkʌs.tə.mə/ noun
In Latin: ēmptor Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about customer at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A habitual patron, regular purchaser, returning client; a person or company who has a custom of buying from a particular business.
-
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.
-
A person, especially one engaging in some sort of interaction with others.
a cool customer, a tough customer, an ugly customer
Origin
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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)