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clericus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word clericus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
beginning of 3rd century–258 AD, Cyprian
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek κληρικός
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek κλῆρος
From the same root
Latin clericatus ← clericus

Forms

clēricus m (genitive clēricī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós, “of the clergy”),[1][2][3] from κλῆρος (klêros, “lot, allotment, inheritance”),[1][4] which in Latin also gave clerus.[5][4] Christian Greek had used the adjective for “belonging to the clergy” by the 2nd century.[3]

Ancient writers explained the name from the lot: Jerome says that the clergy are so called because they are the Lord's lot or because the Lord is their lot,[6] and Augustine and Isidore of Seville derive it from the casting of lots by which Matthias was chosen, the first man ordained by the apostles.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Cyprian, as an adjective (in clerico ministerio, “in the clerical ministry”) and as a noun for the clergy who serve the Church.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

In Christian Latin a clericus was anyone devoted to divine service in the Church, as opposed to a layman (laicus);[6] the Theodosian Code (319 AD) defines the clergy as those who minister to religion,[6] and Isidore of Seville calls clerics all who serve in the Church.[6][7] Jerome contrasts clerics, who feed the sheep, with monks, who are fed.[6]

In the Middle Ages the word covered every man in holy orders, especially one in the lower orders only, and also a monk, a canon or a young cleric training with a priest;[8] as learning was the clergy's preserve, it came to mean a learned man, a scholar and a scribe.[8][3] Hence Italian chierico, French clerc[6] and English clerk.[3]

Timeline

  • beginning of the 3rd century–258 AD – Cyprian uses it as an adjective and as a noun for the clergy.[6][4]
  • 319 AD – A law in the Theodosian Code defines the clergy.[6]
  • c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome explains the name from the Greek word for “lot”.[6][4]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville applies it to all who serve the Church.[7][4]
  • c. 1200 – English clerk takes it over through Old English and Old French.[3]
  • 1620s – Borrowed into English as cleric.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A member of the clergy, a cleric (opposed to a layman).[6][2][9]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A cleric in the minor orders; a monk; a canon.[8]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A learned man, scholar; a scribe, clerk.[8][1]

Adjective

  1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Clerical, of the clergy.[6][8]

Word family

  • clērus
  • English cleric
  • English clerk

Usage notes

The feminine clerica was used in the Middle Ages for a nun.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b c Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  8. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson

Derived terms

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Clericus.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/clericus. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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