[klak], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a group of sycophantic followers
(e.g: he was surrounded by a claque of scheming bureaucrats)

- a group of people hired to applaud (or heckle) a performer or public speaker


Phrases:

Origin:
mid 19th century: French, from claquer ‘to clap’. The practice of paying members of an audience for their support originated at the Paris opera