clerk
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English clerc, from Old English clerc, from Late Latin clēricus (“a priest, clergyman, cleric, also generally a learned man, clerk”), from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikos, “(adj. in church jargon) of the clergy”), from κλῆρος (klēros, “lot, inheritance,” originally “a shard used in casting lots”).
Pronunciation [edit]
- (Australia) IPA: /klaːk/
- Homophone: Clark
- (UK) IPA: /klɑːk/
- Rhymes: -ɑː(r)k
- Homophone: Clark
- (US) enPR: klerk, IPA: /klɝk/
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(r)k
Noun [edit]
clerk (plural clerks)
- One who occupationally works with records, accounts, letters, etc.; an office worker.
- A facilitator of a Quaker meeting for business affairs
- (archaic) In the Church of England, the layman that assists in the church service, especially in reading the responses (also called parish clerk).
- 1595, Shakespeare, Richard II, act 4 scene 1
- God save the King! Will no man say, amen?
- Am I both priest and clerk? Well then, amen.
- 1595, Shakespeare, Richard II, act 4 scene 1
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
one working with records etc.
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Verb [edit]
clerk (third-person singular simple present clerks, present participle clerking, simple past and past participle clerked)
- To act as a clerk, to perform the duties or functions of a clerk
- The law school graduate clerked for the supreme court judge for the summer.
External links [edit]
- clerk in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- clerk in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
