Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “clerkliness” come from?

clerkliness (English) comes from English clerkly, from English clerk, from Middle English clerc, from Old English clerc, from Latin clēricus, from Ancient Greek κληρικός, from Ancient Greek -ικός, from Ancient Greek -κός — -y, -ic.

clerkliness (English): scholarship

Definitions

  1. scholarship

Ancestry of “clerkliness”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishclerklyOf clerks; befitting a clerk; Scholarly; In a...
2EnglishclerkOne who occupationally works with records,...
3Middle Englishclerca clergyman, usually in Christianity
4Old Englishclercclergyman, clerk
5Latinclēricus—
6Ancient Greekκληρικόςof or pertaining to clergy; clerical; clergyman
7Ancient Greek-ικόςof or pertaining to, in the manner of; -ic
8Ancient Greek-κόςforms adjectives with the sense of 'of or...
9Proto-Indo-European-ḱos-y, -ic
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos →