clerkly

[ klurk-lee; British klahrk-lee ]
See synonyms for clerkly on Thesaurus.com
adjective,clerk·li·er, clerk·li·est.
  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a clerk.

  2. Archaic. scholarly.

adverb
  1. in the manner of a clerk.

Origin of clerkly

1
First recorded in 1400–50, clerkly is from the late Middle English word clerkli.See clerk, -ly

Other words from clerkly

  • clerk·li·ness, noun
  • un·clerk·ly, adjective

Words Nearby clerkly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use clerkly in a sentence

  • The Provost-Sergeant had been watching them, at the instigation of a sharp-eyed, clerkly-looking man in semi-uniform.

  • Three mornings in succession a business-like envelope addressed in the same clerkly hand!

    The Open Question | Elizabeth Robins
  • But Ethan put the letter of the clerkly hand into his breast-pocket, and went towering out of the room.

    The Open Question | Elizabeth Robins
  • The clerkly-looking person now courteously motioned Maitland to take a chair.

    The Mark Of Cain | Andrew Lang
  • It is written in a beautiful clerkly hand in close fine character, and is in a perfect state of preservation.

    Old and New London | Walter Thornbury

British Dictionary definitions for clerkly

clerkly

/ (ˈklɑːklɪ) /


adjective-lier or -liest
  1. of or like a clerk

  2. obsolete learned

adverb
  1. obsolete in the manner of a clerk

Derived forms of clerkly

  • clerkliness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012