cler·gy

(klûr′jē)

n. pl. cler·gies

The body of people ordained or recognized by a religious community as ritual or spiritual leaders. See Usage Note at collective noun.

[Middle English clergie, from Old French (from Vulgar Latin *clercīa, from Late Latin clēricus; see clerk) and from Old French clergié, body of clerks (from Vulgar Latin *clercātus, from Late Latin clēricātus, from clēricus, clerk, cleric).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

clergy

(ˈklɜːdʒɪ)

n, pl -gies

(Ecclesiastical Terms) the collective body of men and women ordained as religious ministers, esp of the Christian Church.

[C13: from Old French clergie, from clerc ecclesiastic, clerk]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cler•gy

(ˈklɜr dʒi)

n., pl. -gies.

the group or body of ordained persons in a religion, as distinguished from the laity.

[1175–1225; Middle English clerge, clergie < Old French clerge < Late Latin clericātus office of a priest; see cleric, -ate³]

cler′gy•like`, adj.

usage: See collective noun.

clergy

Religious leaders; a member of the Church.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

clergy - in Christianity, clergymen collectively (as distinguished from the laity)

priesthood - the body of ordained religious practitioners

pastorate - pastors collectively

prelacy, prelature - prelates collectively

cardinalate - cardinals collectively

clergyman, man of the cloth, reverend - a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church

laity, temporalty - in Christianity, members of a religious community that do not have the priestly responsibilities of ordained clergy

clergy

noun priesthood, ministry, clerics, clergymen, churchmen, the cloth, holy orders, ecclesiastics The Bolsheviks closed churches and imprisoned the clergy.

Related words
adjectives clerical, pastoral

Quotations
"Clergy are men as well as other folks" [Henry Fielding Joseph Andrews]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

إكليروس، رِجال الكهنوت

duchovenstvo

gejstlighedpræstestand

papisto

klersvećenstvo

klerkastétt

clero

dvasininkasdvasininkija

garīdzniecība

geistlighet presteskap

духовенство клир

rahipler/papazlar sınıfı

牧师

clergy

[ˈklɜːdʒɪ] NPL → clero m

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

clergy

[ˈklɜː^rdʒi] n → clergé m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

clergy

pl → Klerus m, → Geistlichkeit f, → die Geistlichen pl; to join the clergy → Geistlicher werden

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

clergy

[ˈklɜːdʒɪ] n → clero

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

clergy

(ˈkləːdʒi) noun

the ministers, priests etc of the Christian religion. the clergy of the Church of England.

ˈclergyman noun

one of the clergy; a priest, minister etc.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The first of these personages carried in his right hand a sword; the second, two golden keys; the third, a pair of scales; the fourth, a spade: and, in order to aid sluggish minds which would not have seen clearly through the transparency of these attributes, there was to be read, in large, black letters, on the hem of the robe of brocade, MY NAME IS NOBILITY; on the hem of the silken robe, MY NAME IS CLERGY; on the hem of the woolen robe, MY NAME IS MERCHANDISE; on the hem of the linen robe, MY NAME IS LABOR.

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This excuse she stated before a great council of the clergy of England, as the sole reason for her having taken the religious habit.

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The Spaniards, through the Catholic clergy, offer praise to God for their victory over the French on the fourteenth of June, and the French, also through the Catholic clergy, offer praise because on that same fourteenth of June they defeated the Spaniards.

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"If it be The Black Wolf," whispered Father Claude to the boy, "no worse fate could befall us for he preys ever upon the clergy, and when drunk as he now is, he murders his victims.

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But although Robin fought against the clergy, the friars and monks who did wrong, he did not fight against religion.

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in this history to have sprung from the clergy. It is to be hoped

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I say it only shows his foolish, impious pride, and abominable, devilish rebellion against the reverend clergy. For by a Portuguese Catholic priest, this very idea of Jonah's going to Nineveh via the Cape of Good Hope was advanced as a signal magnification of the general miracle.

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It is not there that respectable people of any denomination can do most good; and it certainly is not there that the influence of the clergy can be most felt.

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Riley, "you're quite under a mistake about the clergy; all the best schoolmasters are of the clergy.

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Doubtless, it is part of the ideal of the Anglican Church that, under certain safeguards, it should find room for latitudinarians even among its clergy. Still, with these, as [67] with all other genuine priests, it is the positive not the negative result that justifies the position.

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We clergy keep our hearts warm and our heads cool, and we hold a judicious middle course.'

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"The amphitheatre was packed, from the bull-ring to the highest row - twelve thousand people in one circling mass, one slanting, solid mass - royalties, nobles, clergy, ladies, gentlemen, state officials, generals, admirals, soldiers, sailors, lawyers, thieves, merchants, brokers, cooks, housemaids, scullery-maids, doubtful women, dudes, gamblers, beggars, loafers, tramps, American ladies, gentlemen, preachers, English ladies, gentlemen, preachers, German ditto, French ditto, and so on and so on, all the world represented: Spaniards to admire and praise, foreigners to enjoy and go home and find fault - there they were, one solid, sloping, circling sweep of rippling and flashing color under the downpour of the summer sun - just a garden, a gaudy, gorgeous flower-garden!

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