cleptomania 
moral insanity, exhibiting itself in an irresisti- 
ble propensity to steal. 
This is wlmt the poor call shoplifting, the rich and 
learned rlriiti'iiiniiia. D. Jerrold, St. James and St. Giles. 
cleptomaniac, kleptomaniac (klep-to-ma'ni- 
ak), a. ami . [< deptontaHia, after maniac.] 
I. . Pertaining to or characterized by clepto- 
mania. 
II. n. One who is affected with cleptomania. 
clereH, and c. An obsolete form of clear. 
clere-t', A sort of kerchief. 
With kerchiefes or cleres of fyne cypres. 
clerestorialt (kler'sto'ri-al), a. [< clerestory + 
-a 1.] Pertaining to a clearstory. Quoted in Ox- 
ford Gloxsitry. 
clerestory, . See clearstory. 
clergesset, [ME., < OF. dergesse, fern, of 
clcre, a learned person, a clerk: see clerk.} A 
learned woman. 
She was a noble clergesse, and of Astronomye cowde she 
I-nough, for Merlin hadde M^ught.^ ^ T ^ ... ^ 
clergiable, . See clcrgyable. 
clergialt ( klOr' ji-al), a, [ME. clergeal, < clergw, 
clergy, + -til. <X- Pr. clerial and E. clerical.] 
Pertaining to the clergy; learned; clerkly; 
clerical. Also clergical. 
We seme wonder wyse, 
Oure termes ben so clergial and queynte. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Canon's Yeoman's Tale, 1. 199. 
clergiallyt (kler'ji-al-i), adv. [ME. clergyally, 
clergialliche ; < clergial + -ly 2 .] 1 . Like a clerk ; 
in a learned or clerkly manner. 
Ac ieh can nouht constrye Catoun [Cato] ne clergialliche, 
reden. Piers Plmimum (C), viii. 34. 
2. Skilfully. 
1042 
The deuel bad ne neuerc mercy craue, 
And he can [knows] more clergw than al thi kynne. 
lliniiiut to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 97. 
An ounce of mother-wit is worth a pound of clergy. 
Old proverb. 
Benefit Of Clergy, in old Eng. law, the exemption of the 
PITSOIIS of ecclesiastics from criminal process before a sec- 
ular judge ; or a privilege by which a clerk, or person in 
orders, claimed to be delivered to his ordinary to purjc 
himself of felony. This anomalous privilege (which never 
extended to all crimes), first assumed to give immunity to 
priestly persons, was in the sequel extended, for many 
offenses, to all laymen who could read (originally few in 
number). It was first legally recognized by stat. 8 Edw. I 
A D 1274; was modified in 1513, under Henry v III.; ami 
was wholly repealed by 7 and 8 George IV., 1827. Black 
rlerev in Russia, the regular or monastic clergy. Divine 
right of the clergy. See divine.- White clergy, in 
Russia, tile secular or parochial clergy. 
clergyable, clergiable (kler'ji-a-bl), a. [< 
clergy, 2, + -able.] Entitled to or admitting of 
the benefit of clergy: as, a clergyaMe felony. 
The court in all clergyable felonies may impose a fine. 
Blackstone, Commentaries, IV. xxviii. 
clergyman (kler'ji-man), n.; pi. clergymen 
(-men). [Not in ME.'; < clergy + man.} A 
member of the clergy ; a man in holy orders ; 
a man regularly authorized to preach the gos- 
pel and administer ordinances according to 
the rules of any particular denomination of 
Christians. In England the term is common- 
ly restricted to ministers of the established 
church. 
I wish to make a note of the change taking place in the 
meaning of the word clergyman. It used to signify "one 
in holy orders," but is now applied indiscriminately to all 
preachers. If. and Q-, 7th ser., II. 227. 
He will even speak well of the bishop, though I tell him 
it ia unnatural in a beneflced clergyman. 
George Eliat, Middlemarch, i. 6. 
Clergyman's sore throat, chronic pharyngitis: so 
called from the fact that it is often induced by frequent 
public speaking. =Syn. Priest, Divine, etc. See minu- 
ter, n. 
clerk 
found under bark, and are mostly predatory, 
feeding on other insects. Kirby, 1837. 
clerigiet An obsolete form of clergy. 
clerisy (kler'i-si), . [= D. klcrc;ij (= MLG. 
klr.rkeitie) = G. klerisei = Dan. Sw. kleresi, < 
ML.*dmci, clergy : see clergy.] 1 . The clergy, 
as distinguished from the laity. 
There is an evident inclination on the part of the medi- 
cal profession to get itself organized after the fashion of 
the clerisy. U. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 409. 
2. A body of clerks or learned men ; the literati. 
The clerisy of a nation, that is, its learned men, whether 
poets, philosophers, or scholars. 
Coleridge, Table-Talk, p. 41. 
The artist, the scholar, and, in general, the clerisy, wins 
its way up into these places. 
Emerson, Essays, 2d ser., p. 142. 
[Rare in both senses.] 
clerk (klerk; in England commonly klark), . 
[Early mod. E. also written (as now prou. in 
Eng.) dart, < ME. clerc, dark, dare, also clerek, 
cleric, < AS. clerc, also cleric, cleroc = OFnes. 
klerk, klirk = D. klerk = MLG. klerk = Dan. Sw. 
klerk = Icel. klerkr = OF. and F. clerc = Pr. 
clerc = Sp. clerigo = Pg. clerigo = It. cheneo, 
chierico, < LL. clerimis, a clergyman, priest, 
cleric, ML., etc., also generally a learned man, 
clerk, < Gr. KMipinfis, belonging to the clergy, 
clerical, a clergyman, < td.fijmt;, the clergy, what 
is allotted, a lot.] 1. A clergyman ; a priest ; an 
ecclesiastic; a man in holy orders. [Archaic.] 
Thane clarett and Creette, clergyally rennene [caused to 
With U condethcs fulle curious alleof clene silvyre. clergyWOman (kler'ji-wum"an), n. ; pi. clergy- 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. s.), 1. 200. women (-wim^en). A woman connected with 
clergiant, See clergion, 
clergicalt (kler'ji-kal), a. [< clergy + -c- + 
-al, after clerical. Cf. clergial.'] Same as cler- 
gial: as, "clergical faults," Milton. 
clergifyt (kler'ji-fi), . t. [< clergy + -fy.] To 
convert into a clergyman ; bring over to clerical 
principles. 
Let it fit (quoth she) 
To such as lust for love ; sir Clarke, 
You clergylie not me. 
Warner, Albion's England, vi. 31. 
clergiont (kler'ji-ou), n. [Also clergian; < ME. 
clergeon, -eottn, -ioun, < OF. clergeon, clerjon (> 
ML. dergonus), also clercon, clerzun = Pr. cler- 
zon = Sp. clerizon, dim. (like ML. clericulus, of 
same sense), < LL. clericus, a clergyman, priest, 
clerk : see clerk, clergy.'] A young chorister or 
choir-boy. 
She called [to ken] me a clerioun that hyjte 
Omnia-probate, a pore thing with-alle. 
Piers Plowman (A), xii. 49. 
A litel clergion, seven yeer of age. 
Chaucer, Prioress's Tale, 1. 61. 
Among churchmen, from the archbishop downwards to 
the lowliest eleryion, each one was arrayed in the vestments 
belonging to his grade in the hierarchy. 
Rock, Church of our Fathers, ii. 486. 
clergy (kler'ji), n. [< ME. clergie, clergye, clergi, 
clcrge (cf. MLG. klerikie, klerkie), < OF. clergie 
= Pr. clercia = Sp. clereda = Pg. clerezia = 
It. cliieresia, clergy, chericia, clerkship (cf. E. 
clerisy), < ML. as if *clericia (F. clergd, < OF. 
clergie, but as if < LL. clericatus), the dignity 
or office of a clergyman, < LL. clericus, a clergy- 
man, priest, clerk: see clerk.] 1. A body of 
men set apart and consecrated by due ordina- 
tion to the duties of public ministration in the 
Christian church ; the body of ecclesiastics, in 
distinction from the laity. 
The clergi on the seterday, 
That kepers ware of cristen lay. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 115. 
The whole body of the Church being divided into laity 
and clergy, the clergy are either presbyters or deacons. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, V. 78. 
2f. The privilege or benefit of clergy. See below. 
Petit treason, and very many other acts of felony, are 
ousted of clergy by particular Acts of Parliament. 
Blackstone, Commentaries, IV. xxviii. 
3. Persons connected with the clerical profes- 
sion or the religious orders. 
I found the clergy in general persons of moderate minds 
and decorous manners ; I include the seculars and regu- 
lars of both sexes. Burke, Kev. in France, p. 118. 
4f. Learning; erudition. 
Fromont was a good creature, 
An huge gret clerke nil of clergy. 
Rom. of Partenay(E. E. T. S.), 1. 2552. 
the clerical profession, or belonging to a clergy- 
man's family. [Rare.] 
From the clergywomen of Windham down to the char- 
women the question was discussed. 
Mrs. Oliphant, Agnes, i. 
cleric (kler'ik), n. and a. [< LL. clericus, a 
clergyman: see clerk.] I. n. A clerk; a clergy- 
man or scholar. 
The cleric . . . addicted to a life of study and devotion. 
Horsley, Sermon for Sons of the Clergy. 
Religious persons were wont to come by proxy, repre- 
senting themselves as secular clerics, and thus to intrude 
themselves into the benefices of the Church. 
Jl. W. Dixon, Hist. Church of Eng., ii. 
Of the new style of cleric, . . . there is none who knows 
how to versify. Harper's Mag., LXX. 175. 
II. a. Same as clerical, 1. 
clerical (kler'i-kal), a. and n. [= F. clerical = 
Sp. Pg. clerical = It. cherieale, < LL. clericalis, < 
clericus, a clerk, clergyman: see cleric, clerk.] 
1. a. 1. Relating or pertaining to the clergy: as, 
clerical tonsure ; clerical robes; clerical duties. 
A separate letter was addressed to the two archbishops 
at the calling of each parliament, urging them to compel 
the attendance of the clerical estate. 
Stubbs, Const. Hist., 388. 
2. Of or pertaining to a clerk, writer, or copy- 
ist : as, clerical errors. 
II. n. 1. A member of the clergy. 2. Asup- 
porter, especially a political supporter, of cleri- 
cal power or influence. 
clericalism (kler'i-kal-izm), n. [< clerical + 
-ism.] Clerical power or influence ; especially, 
the undue influence of the clergy, or support 
of such influence ; sacerdotalism. 
Clericalism is well nigh fatal to Christianity. 
Maemittan'8 Mag. 
clericality (kler-i-kal'i-ti), n. [< clerical + 
-ity.] The quality of being clerical ; clerical- 
ism. 
clericism (kler'i-sizm), n. [< cleric + -ism.] 
Clericalism. 
The English universities have suffered deeply . . . from 
clericism, celibacy, and sinecurism. 
A". A. Ren., CXXVI. 224. 
Clericity (kle-ris'i-ti)> n. [< cleric + -ity.] The 
state of being a clergyman. J. J. G. Wilkin- 
son. [Rare.] 
clerid (kler'id), n. A beetle of the family Cle- 
ridcf. 
Cleridse (kler'i-de), n.pl. [NL., < Clerus + -idte.] 
A family of clavicorn Coleoptera or beetles, with 
the tarsi 5-jointed, the first ventral segment not 
elongated, the hind coxse flat and not sulcate, 
the prosternum not prolonged behind, and the 
tarsi with membranous lobes. The larv are 
All persons were stiled clerks that served in the Church 
of Christ, whether they were bishops, priests, or deacons. 
Aylife, Parergon. 
The reuerend Patriarks, 
Whose praise is penned by the sacred Clarks. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 3. 
2. A learned man; a man of letters ; a scholar; 
a writer or author; originally, a man who could 
read, an attainment at one time confined chiefly 
to ecclesiastics. [Archaic.] 
Thei seide ther myght noon knowe the cause why, but 
it were notable clerkes; " (for thei can knowe many thiuges 
be force of clergie that we ne can no skyle on." 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), l. 27. 
The Krettestciertes ben not wisest men. 
Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, 1. 134. 
3. The layman who leads in reading the re- 
sponses in the service of the Church of England. 
Also called parish clerk. 
God save the king ! Will no man say, Amen 1 
Am I both priest and clerk! well then, Amen. 
Shak., Rich. II., iv. 1. 
4. An officer of a court, legislature, municipal 
corporation, or other body, whose duty gener- 
ally is to keep the records of the body to which 
he is attached, and perform the routine busi- 
ness: as, clerk of court; town clerk; clerk to a 
school-board, etc. See secretary. 
The Oild had usually its head officer or Alderman (Grace- 
man); its Stewards (Wardens), into whose hands the 
property or funds were entrusted for administration ; its 
Dean or Beadle; and its Clerk. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), Int., p. xxxviii. 
On clerke. to wryten the nessessariis of the gild. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 46. 
5. One who is employed in an office, public 
or private, or in a shop or warehouse, to keep 
records or accounts ; one who is employed by 
another as a writer or amanuensis. 
My lord Bassanio gave his ring away 
Unto the judge ; . . . and then the boy, his clerk, 
That took some pains in writing, he begged mine. 
Shak., M. of V. r. 1. 
6. In the United States, an assistant in busi- 
ness, whether or not a keeper of accounts ; espe- 
cially, a retail salesman Brethren and Clerks 
of the Common Life. See brother. Clerk comptroller 
of the king's household, a former officer of the English 
court charged with supervision of many of the inferior 
officers, and with scrutiny of accounts and charges. 
Clerk In orders, in the Church of England, a licensed 
clergyman. Clerk Of enrolments, an officer who has 
custody of bills passed by both houses of Parliament for 
the purpose of obtaining the royal assent. Sir E. May. 
Clerk Of Justiciary, the clerk of the Scottish Court 
of Justiciary. There are a principal and a depute-clerk 
and an assistant ; it is their duty to attend the sittings 
of the Justiciary Court in Edinburgh, to keep the books 
of adjournal, and to write out the interlocutors and sen- 
tences of the court. Clerk Of the assize, in England, 
the person who records what is judicially done by the jus- 
tices of assize in their circuits. Clerk of the chamber, 
a clerk in each of several municipal corporations in Eng- 
land charged with the duty of keeping accounts, particu- 
larly of fees, and in London with matters relating to ad- 
missions to the freedom of the city, apprenticeship deeds, 
and the plate, jewels, etc., belonging to the city.- Clerk 
of the check. See checks Clerk of the crown, in 
England an officer of the crown in attendance upon both 
houses of Parliament and upon the great seal. In the 
House of Lords he makes out and issues all writs of sum- 
mons.^ peers, writs for the attendance of the judges, 
commissions to summon and prorogue Parliament, and to 
pass bills, and performs various other duties. In connec- 
tion with the Commons he makes out and issues all writs 
