cleric
Americannoun
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a member of the clergy.
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a member of a clerical party.
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(used with a plural verb) clerics, half-sized or small-sized reading glasses worn on the nose, usually rimless or with a thin metal frame.
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of cleric
1615–25; < Late Latin clēricus priest < Greek klērikós, equivalent to klêr ( os ) lot, allotment + -ikos -ic
Explanation
A religious official or member of the clergy is also known as a cleric. The priest in an Episcopal church is a cleric, and so is a Muslim imam. The term cleric is less common than clergyman and clergywoman, but when you're talking about a Christian or Muslim religious leader, it's a great word to use. Cleric comes from the Latin clericus, "priest," and its Greek root klēros, "inheritance or heritage." It shares these roots with clerk, a word that was originally a synonym of cleric but today more often means "a person working in an office."
Vocabulary lists containing cleric
The Golden Compass
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The Suffix -ic, Part 3
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Unwind
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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.
Cleric Ammar al-Hakim said discussion would stop Iraq from “slipping into unimaginable consequences.”
From Washington Post • Aug. 2, 2022
Cleric Hossein Taeb will be replaced by Gen. Mohammad Kazemi, the former head of the Guard’s security department.
From Washington Times • Jun. 23, 2022
Cleric women wearing protective clothing as well as “chador,” a head-to-toe garment, carefully preparing the body of a coronavirus victim for a funeral in Iran.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 10, 2022
You can fight both the Cleric Beast and Father Gascoigne — arguably one of the hardest bosses in the entire game — while also encountering one of the notoriously difficult Hunter NPC fights.
From The Verge • Jan. 31, 2022
Ayatollah Khamenei was Iran’s Supreme Cleric: the absolute religious and governmental authority.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
