clerical

[kler-i-kuhl]

adjective

1. of, pertaining to, appropriate for, or assigned to an office clerk or clerks.

   a clerical job.

2. doing the work of a clerk or clerks.

   a clerical assistant;

   a clerical staff.

3. of, relating to, or characteristic of the clergy or a member of the clergy.

   clerical garb.

4. advocating the power or influence of the clergy in politics, government, etc..

   a clerical party.

noun

1. a cleric.

2. Informal.,  clericals, clerical garments.

3. a person or a party advocating the power or influence of the church in politics, government, etc.

4. a person who does clerical work; office worker; clerk.

5. Also called clerical error. a minor error, as in the keeping of records, the transcribing of documents, or the handling of correspondence.

clerical

/ ˈklɛrɪkəl /

adjective

1. relating to or associated with the clergy

   clerical dress

2. of or relating to office clerks or their work

   a clerical error

3. supporting or advocating clericalism

Other Word Forms

• clericality noun
• clerically adverb
• interclerical adjective
• nonclerical adjective
• nonclerically adverb
• preclerical adjective
• proclerical adjective
• pseudoclerical adjective
• pseudoclerically adverb
• quasi-clerical adjective
• quasi-clerically adverb
• semiclerical adjective
• semiclerically adverb
• unclerical adjective
• unclerically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of clerical¹

1425–75 for sense “learned”; 1585–95 clerical for def. 3; late Middle English < Late Latin clēricālis, equivalent to clēric ( us ) cleric + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

It started with the growth of clerical work and the corporate enterprise in the 1920s.

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And farewell to the belief that clerical work was a man’s job.

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The Senate last month passed the Math Act, which corrects the often infuriating way the agency handles clerical errors.

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More than 20 different faith groups were represented around the plain stone of the Cenotaph, with clerical robes mixing in with the military uniforms.

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The prison officers' representatives said a clerical error meant there was no warrant from the court to hold him, and he was let go.

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Related Words

• ecclesiastical 
• ministerial 
• monastic 
• pastoral 
• rabbinical