cus·tom·er

[kuhs-tuh-mer]
noun
1.
a person who purchases goods or services from another; buyer; patron.
2.
Informal. a person one has to deal with: a tough customer; a cool customer.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English; see custom, -er1; compare Middle English customer collector of customs < Anglo-French; Old French costumier, cognate with Medieval Latin custumārius; see customary

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
customer (ˈkʌstəmə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a person who buys
2.  informal a person with whom one has dealings: a cool customer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Customer is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

customer
14c., "customs official;" later "buyer" (early 15c.), from Anglo-Fr. custumer, from M.L. custumarius, from L. consuetudinarius (see custom). More generalized meaning "a person with whom one has dealings" emerged 1540s; that of "a person to deal with" (usually wth an adjective,
tough, etc.) is by 1580s. In Shakespeare, the word also can mean "prostitute."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

customer

see ugly customer.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
For example, a company may simply decide to move its local customer services
  operation to one of its own subsidiaries abroad.
It all depends on what the customer wants from a fairly extensive list.
And it is no good getting too far ahead of the customer.
They are also looking to capture other kinds of customer.
Idioms & Phrases
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