clericus

clericus

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós, “(adj. in church jargon) of the clergy”), from κλῆρος (klêros, “the clergy, what is allotted, a lot, inheritance, originally a shard used in casting lots”).

Noun

clēricus m (genitive clēricī); second declension

1. (Late Latin) a priest, clergyman or clergywoman, cleric
2. (Late Latin) a learned man, clerk

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	clēricus	clēricī
Genitive	clēricī	clēricōrum
Dative	clēricō	clēricīs
Accusative	clēricum	clēricōs
Ablative	clēricō	clēricīs
Vocative	clērice	clēricī

Related terms

• clērus

Descendants

• Catalan: clergue
• English: cleric (borrowing)
• Italian: chierico
• Old English: clerc
  • Middle English: clerc
    • English: clerk
• Old Francoprovençal: clergo, clerc
  • Franco-Provençal: clerg, clergeon
• Old French: clerc
  • French: clerc
• Old Irish: cléirech
  • Irish: cléireach
  • Manx: cleragh
  • Scottish Gaelic: clèireach
• Old Leonese: clerigu
• Old Portuguese: clerigo, crerigo
  • Galician: crego, clérigo
  • Portuguese: clérigo, clergo
• Romanian: cleric
• Spanish: clérigo

References

• “clericus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• clericus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• clericus in Ramminger, Johann (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• clerk in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911