Clergy
//ˈklɜːdʒi// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Body of persons, such as priests, who are trained and ordained for religious service. uncountable, usually
"Today we brought together clergy from the Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, and Reformed traditions for ecumenical dialogue."
- 2 in Christianity, clergymen collectively (as distinguished from the laity) wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"All the clergy are against the new law."
Etymology
From Middle English clergie (attested in the 13th century), from Old French clergie (“learned men”), from Late Latin clēricātus, from Latin clēricus (“one ordained for religious services”), from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós, “of the clergy”). Equivalent to cleric + -ate.
Related phrases
More for "clergy"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.