clerk English · revision 10598

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 975|origins=ang cleric|origins=fro clerc|origins=la-ecc clericus|origins=grc κληρικός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /klɑːk/, US /klɝːk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is partly [[inh|ang|cleric|t=clergyman]] (about 975)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and partly Old French [[m|fro|clerc|t=clergyman, scholar]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) both from Late Latin [[m|la-ecc|clēricus|t=a priest]] (see [[cleric]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from Greek [[m|grc|κληρικός|tr=klērikós]], from klêros, lot, inheritance, clergy.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A member of the clergy, a priest: about 975 in the OED, probably before 1200 in the spelling clerc.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Because in the Middle Ages learning was often limited to the clergy, who did the writing and secretarial work, clerk came to mean a scribe, and by about 1200 any person of book learning who could read and write.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) From there it passed to an assistant who keeps accounts (1512 in Barnhart, about 1500 in Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) and an officer of a court or town who keeps records (the 1520s).^(Etymonline) In American English a clerk is also a shop assistant (1790), and a hotel desk clerk from 1879.^(Etymonline) The spelling and pronunciation clark appear in the 15th century,^(Hoad 1986) and the British pronunciation /klɑːk/ continues them.^(Roach et al. 2011) The verb is from 1551.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 975 – a clergyman.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – a scholar, a literate man.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1512 – an office clerk.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1520s – a court or town clerk.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1790 – a shop assistant (US).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1879 – a hotel clerk.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An office worker who keeps records, handles [[correspondence]] and files.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An official who keeps the records of a court, council or legislature: ''a town clerk''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US)'' A salesperson in a shop, or a hotel receptionist.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(archaic)'' A [[cleric]] or a scholar.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To work as a clerk.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[clerkdom]]

+ * [[clerkship]]

+ * [[clerkish]]

+ * [[clerklike]]

+ * [[clerkly]]

+ * [[subclerk]]

+ * [[underclerk]]

+ * [[law clerk]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[clergy]]

+ * [[clergyman]]

+ * [[cleric]]

+ * [[clerical]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}