clergy
/ˈkləːdʒi
/noun (plural clergies) [usually treated as plural]
The body of all people ordained for religious duties, especially in the Christian Church: all marriages were to be solemnized by the clergy...
- He helped to draft a new catechism of the church to instruct parish clergy.
- The colleges provide sheltered housing for clergy widows and retired clergy.
- Invariably, he would publicly upbraid those members of the clergy he deemed to be unconverted.
Synonyms
clergymen, clergywomen, churchmen, churchwomen, clerics, priests, ecclesiastics, men/women of God, men/women of the cloth;
ministry, priesthood, holy orders, the church, the cloth, first estate
Origin
Middle English: from Old French, based on ecclesiastical Latin clericus 'clergyman' (see cleric).