cleric

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈklɛrɪk/ UK /ˈklɛrɪk/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a member of the clergy; an ordained religious official

A local cleric presided over the wedding ceremony.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a member of the clergy; an... clergyman priest minister churchman ecclesiastic parson divine

Opposites

layman

Word family

Derived forms clericalism

Related forms clerical clergy clerkclericate

Etymology

From Late Latin clericus 'clergyman', from Ancient Greek klērikos 'belonging to the clergy', from klēros 'lot, inheritance'.

clericus Latin klērikos Ancient Greek klēros Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

# cleric

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈklɛrɪk
**IPA (UK):** ˈklɛrɪk

## Meanings
1. a member of the clergy; an ordained religious official

## Examples
- A local cleric presided over the wedding ceremony.

## Synonyms
- clergyman
- priest
- minister
- churchman
- ecclesiastic
- parson
- divine

## Antonyms
- layman

## Derived Forms
- clericalism

## Related Forms
- clerical
- clergy
- clerk
- clericate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: clericus
- Root: klērikos
- Root: klēros

## Etymology
From Late Latin clericus 'clergyman', from Ancient Greek klērikos 'belonging to the clergy', from klēros 'lot, inheritance'.

## AI Etymology
Cleric comes from Late Latin clericus 'clergyman', from Ancient Greek klērikos 'belonging to the clergy', from klēros 'lot, inheritance'. The historical trail runs through Latin clericus, Ancient Greek klērikos and Ancient Greek klēros. In modern use it means a member of the clergy; an ordained religious official. Derived formations include clericalism; related forms include clerical, clergy, clerk, clericate.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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cleric

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