cleric

/ˈklɛrɪk/

/ˈklɛrɪk/

Other forms: clerics

A religious official or member of the clergy is also known as a cleric. The priest in an Episcopal church is a cleric, and so is a Muslim imam.

The term cleric is less common than clergyman and clergywoman, but when you're talking about a Christian or Muslim religious leader, it's a great word to use. Cleric comes from the Latin clericus, "priest," and its Greek root klēros, "inheritance or heritage." It shares these roots with clerk, a word that was originally a synonym of cleric but today more often means "a person working in an office."

Definitions of cleric

1. noun

   a clergyman or other person in religious orders
   synonyms: churchman, divine, ecclesiastic

   examples:

   Thomas a Kempis

   German ecclesiastic (1380-1471)

   Saint Bruno

   (Roman Catholic Church) a French cleric (born in Germany) who founded the Carthusian order in 1084 (1032-1101)

   types:

   ordainer

   a cleric who ordains; a cleric who admits someone to holy orders

   pardoner

   a medieval cleric who raised money for the church by selling papal indulgences

   pluralist

   a cleric who holds more than one benefice at a time

   absolver

   someone who grants absolution

   type of:

   clergyman, man of the cloth, reverend

   a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of a Christian church