clergyman
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of clergyman
Explanation
A clergyman is a male religious leader. Priests, rabbis, ministers, or imams are all considered clergymen if they're male. While you can use the terms clergyman and clergywoman to specify male and female religious leaders, both clergyperson and simply clergy are fine too. Any term including clergy is most common in Christianity — Catholic clergymen, for example, include priests, deacons, and bishops. The word comes from the Latin clericus, "learned man or priest."
Vocabulary lists containing clergyman
"The Red Shoes" by Hans Christian Andersen
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Adventures of Don Quixote
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Vocabulary from Readings 5, Unit 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star returns as a Protestant clergyman who becomes entangled with the mob in this Netflix series co-starring Taylor Ortega and Laurie Metcalf.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026
"One of Monaco's distinctive features is a kind of positive secularism, which recognises the legitimate autonomy of the spiritual and temporal spheres," Guillaume Paris, a senior clergyman in Monaco, told AFP.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
It turns out that each of them has some tangled history with the deceased clergyman.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025
It’s signaled early: When the documentary crew is preparing the room for Fife, they awkwardly move a decorated Christmas tree out of the shot, revealing a portrait of some clergyman on the wall.
From New York Times • Dec. 5, 2024
I remembered that strangers who arrive at a place where they have no friends, and who want employment, sometimes apply to the clergyman for introduction and aid.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
