clerical

From Late Latin clēricālis (“clerical”), from clēricus (“clergyman, priest”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈklɛɹɪkəl/

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clerical (not comparable)

1. Of or relating to clerks or their work.
   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I:

     ‘The groans of this sick person,’ he said, ‘distract my attention. And without that it is extremely difficult to guard against clerical errors in this climate.’

2. Of or relating to the clergy.

   Synonym: cleric

• clergy
• clergyman
• cleric
• clerk

clerical (plural clericals)

1. (now uncommon) A member of the clergy. [from 19th c.]
2. (in the plural, informal) Clerical garments. [from 19th c.]

• “clerical”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “clerical”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Borrowed from Late Latin clēricālis (“clerical”).

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [klə.ɾiˈkal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kle.ɾiˈkal]
• Rhymes: -al

clerical m or f (masculine and feminine plural clericals)

1. clerical (of or relating to the clergy)

• anticlerical
• clericalisme

• “clerical”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “clerical”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
• “clerical” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “clerical” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Late Latin clēricālis (“clerical”).

clerical m or f (plural clericais)

1. clerical (of or relating to the clergy)

• clericalismo

• clero

• “clerical”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Borrowed from Late Latin clēricālis (“clerical”), from clēricus (“clergyman, priest”).

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: re‧ci‧tal

clerical m or f (plural clericais)

1. clerical (of or relating to the clergy)

• anticlerical
• clericalismo

• clero

• “clerical”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Borrowed from French clérical, from Latin clericalis. By surface analysis, cleric +‎ -al.

clerical m or n (feminine singular clericală, masculine plural clericali, feminine and neuter plural clericale)

1. clerical

From Latin clēricālis.

• IPA^(key): /kleɾiˈkal/ [kle.ɾiˈkal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: cle‧ri‧cal

clerical m or f (masculine and feminine plural clericales)

1. (relational) clergy; clerical (of or relating to the clergy)

• “clerical”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024