| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | ministry of church |
| Synonyms: | canonicate, canonry, cardinalate, churchpersons, clerics, conclave, deaconry, diaconate, ecclesiastics, first estate, holy order, pastorate, prelacy, priesthood, rabbinate, the cloth, the desk, the pulpit |
| Notes: | clergy first meant 'learning, scholarship' and clerk had the original meaning 'man ordained to the Christian ministry' |