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clergy

 [klur-jee]   Origin

cler·gy

   [klur-jee]
noun, plural -gies.
the group or body of ordained persons in a religion, as distinguished from the laity.
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Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English clerge, clergie < Old French clergé (< Late Latin clericātus office of a priest; see cleric, -ate3), clergie, equivalent to clerc cleric + -ie -y3, with -g- after clergé

Related forms
cler·gy·like, adjective
an·ti·cler·gy, adjective
pro·cler·gy, adjective

Can be confused: clergy, cleric, imam, minister, pastor, priest, rabbi.

Usage note
See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
clergy (ˈklɜːdʒɪ)
 
—n , pl -gies
the collective body of men and women ordained as religious ministers, esp of the Christian ChurchRelated: clerical, pastoral
 
Related: clerical, pastoral
 
[C13: from Old French clergie, from clerc ecclesiastic, clerk]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

clergy
c.1200, clergie "office or dignity of a clergyman," from two O.Fr. words: 1. clergie "clerics, learned men," from M.L. clericatus, from L. clericus (see clerk); 2. clergie "learning," from clerc, also from L. clericus.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

clergy

a body of ordained ministers in a Christian church. In the Roman Catholic Church and in the Church of England, the term includes the orders of bishop, priest, and deacon. Until 1972, in the Roman Catholic Church, clergy also included several lower orders

Learn more about clergy with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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