clerical collar

American  

noun

1. a stiff, narrow, bandlike white collar fastened at the back of the neck, worn by certain clerics.

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clerical collar British  

noun

1. Informal name: dog collar. a stiff white collar with no opening at the front that buttons at the back of the neck; the distinctive mark of the clergy in certain Churches

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Etymology

Origin of clerical collar

First recorded in 1945–50

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clerical collar

In his Halloween paso doble showcase, he wore a clerical collar and forewent grease paint or creepy contacts, relying on wide-eyed expressions and a low-slung layer of fake fog to hide his relatively clumsy footwork.

From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2025

“I was wearing my clerical collar, a big old cross necklace, you know, basically everything that you can to identify yourself as not exactly a rioter.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025

In police body-camera footage obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Lee can be seen wearing a clerical collar and sitting in a red sedan parked near Ms. Freeman’s suburban home on Dec. 15, 2020.

From New York Times ● Nov. 1, 2022

She thought she had the flu: body aches, exhaustion, a low-grade fever and a swollen neck that fit uncomfortably tight in her clerical collar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2020

When one of the prosecution witnesses described how Raymond Mhlaba had worn a clerical collar as a disguise, Dennis took to calling him Reverend Mhlaba.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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