clerisy

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clerisy

/ˈklɛɹɪsi/

Rhymes with -ɛəɹɪsi

Where it comes from

From Ancient Greek κλῆρος (klêros) + -isy. Introduced by Coleridge, based on German Clerisei (modern Klerisei), from Late Latin clēricus.

noun clerisies

countable, uncountable An elite group of intellectuals; learned people, the literati. 2003: By the nineteenth-century clerisy […] Christianity itself, yoked to material civilization, came to be questioned as gross and vulgar. — Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason (Penguin 2004, p. 432)
Similar: intelligentsia
countable, uncountable The clergy, or their opinions, as opposed to the laity. Few men have ever had a stronger conviction of their clerisy, of their belonging to the clerkly caste of the responsibles.

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MLA

"clerisy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/clerisy. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

clerisy. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/clerisy

Chicago

"clerisy." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/clerisy.

BibTeX

@misc{clerisy_2026,
  title = {clerisy},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/clerisy},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}