claque

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The Word of the Day for January 7 is:

claque   \KLAK\   noun
     1 : a group hired to applaud at a performance
   *2 : a group of sycophants

Example sentence:
     The most popular girl in school was routinely accompanied 
by a claque of hangers-on.

Did you know?
     The word "claque" might call to mind the sound of a clap, 
and that's no accident. "Claque" is a French borrowing that 
descends from the verb "claquer," meaning "to clap," and the 
noun "claque," meaning "a clap." Those French words in turn 
originated in imitation of the sound associated with them. 
English speakers borrowed "claque" in the 19th century. At that 
time, the practice of infiltrating audiences with hired members 
was very common to French theater culture. Claque members 
received money and free tickets to laugh, cry, shout -- and of 
course clap -- in just the right spots, hopefully influencing 
the rest of the audience to do the same. 

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.