Clergy
- Clergy
- Clergy Cler"gy, n. [OE. clergie, clergi, clerge, OF. clergie,
F. clergie (fr. clerc clerc, fr. L. clericus priest) confused
with OF. clergi['e], F. clerg['e], fr. LL. clericatus office
of priest, monastic life, fr. L. clericus priest, LL.
scholar, clerc. Both the Old French words meant clergy, in
sense 1, the former having also sense 2. See {Clerk}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. The body of men set apart, by due ordination, to the
service of God, in the Christian church, in distinction
from the laity; in England, usually restricted to the
ministers of the Established Church. --Hooker.
[1913 Webster]
2. Learning; also, a learned profession. [Obs.]
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Sophictry . . . rhetoric, and other cleargy. --Guy
of Warwick.
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Put their second sons to learn some clergy. --State
Papers (1515).
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3. The privilege or benefit of clergy.
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If convicted of a clergyable felony, he is entitled
equally to his clergy after as before conviction.
--Blackstone.
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{Benefit of clergy} (Eng., Law), the exemption of the persons
of clergymen from criminal process before a secular judge
-- a privilege which was extended to all who could read,
such persons being, in the eye of the law, clerici, or
clerks. This privilege was abridged and modified by
various statutes, and finally abolished in the reign of
George IV. (1827).
{Regular clergy}, {Secular clergy} See {Regular}, n., and
{Secular}, a.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
2000.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
clergy — n. Religious professionals; those ordained for the ministry. The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008 … Law dictionary
clergy — c.1200, clergie office or dignity of a clergyman, from two Old French words: 1. clergié clerics, learned men, from M.L. clericatus, from L.L. clericus (see CLERK (Cf. clerk)); 2. clergie learning, knowledge, erudition, from clerc, also from L.L.… … Etymology dictionary
clergy — [n] ministry of church canonicate, canonry, cardinalate, churchpersons, clerics, conclave, deaconry, diaconate, ecclesiastics, first estate, holy order, pastorate, prelacy, priesthood, rabbinate, the cloth, the desk, the pulpit; concept 369 … New thesaurus
clergy — ► NOUN (pl. clergies) (usu. treated as pl. ) ▪ the body of people ordained for religious duties in the Christian Church. ORIGIN Latin clericus cleric, clergyman … English terms dictionary
clergy — [klʉr′jē] n. pl. clergies [ME clergie, office or dignity of a clergyman < OFr < LL(Ec) clericus: see CLERK] persons ordained for religious service; ministers, priests, rabbis, etc., collectively … English World dictionary
Clergy — (left to right) George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury (1991–2002), Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi (UK), Mustafa Ceric, Grand Mufti of Bosnia, Jim Wallis, Sojourners, USA. 2009 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Cleric redirects here. For… … Wikipedia
clergy — clergylike, adj. /klerr jee/, n., pl. clergies. the group or body of ordained persons in a religion, as distinguished from the laity. [1175 1225; ME clerge, clergie < OF clergé ( < LL clericatus office of a priest; see CLERIC, ATE3), clergie,… … Universalium
clergy — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) Religious personnel Nouns 1. (body of clergy) clergy, ministry, priesthood, rabbinate, abbacy, ulema, imamate; the cloth, Roman collar. See religion, worship. 2. (member of the clergy) clergyman or woman … English dictionary for students
Clergy — (Roget s Thesaurus) < N PARAG:Clergy >N GRP: N 1 Sgm: N 1 clergy clergy clericals ministry priesthood presbytery the cloth the desk GRP: N 2 Sgm: N 2 clergyman clergyman divine ecclesiastic church … English dictionary for students
clergy */*/ — UK [ˈklɜː(r)dʒɪ] / US [ˈklɜrdʒɪ] noun [plural] Word forms clergy : singular clergy plural clergies the people who lead religious services, especially Christian priests. A man who leads religious services is sometimes called a clergyman and a… … English dictionary
