Main Entry: ¹clerk

Pronunciation: \ˈklərk, British usually ˈklärk\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French clerk & Old English cleric, clerc, both from Late Latin clericus, from Late Greek klērikos, from Greek klēros lot, inheritance (in allusion to Deuteronomy 18:2), stick of wood; akin to Greek klan to break — more at clast

Date: before 12th century

1 : cleric
2 archaic : scholar
3 a : an official responsible (as to a government agency) for correspondence, records, and accounts and vested with specified powers or authority (as to issue writs as ordered by a court) <city clerk> b : one employed to keep records or accounts or to perform general office work c : one who works at a sales or service counter

— clerk·ship \-ˌship\ noun