|
(klrk; in Eng. klrk; 277), n.[Either OF. clerc, fr. L. clericus a priest, or AS. clerc, cleric, clerk, priest, fr. L. clericus, fr. Gr. klhriko°s belonging to the clergy, fr. klh^ros lot, allotment, clergy; cf. Deut. xviii. 2. Cf. Clergy.] 1. A clergyman or ecclesiastic. [Obs.] All persons were styled clerks that served in the church of Christ. Ayliffe. 2. A man who could read; a scholar; a learned person; a man of letters. [Obs.] "Every one that could read . . . being accounted a clerk." Blackstone. He was no great clerk, but he was perfectly well versed in the interests of Europe. Burke. 3. A parish officer, being a layman who leads in reading the responses of the Episcopal church service, and otherwise assists in it. [Eng.] Hook. And like unlettered clerk still cry "Amen". Shak. 4. One employed to keep records or accounts; a scribe; an accountant; as, the clerk of a court; a town clerk. The clerk of the crown . . . withdrew the bill. Strype. In some cases, clerk is synonymou スポンサード リンク
|