clergé (French)
Where does "clergé" come from?
French clergé is inherited from Middle French clergié, continuing an older Old French form and ultimately going back to Late Latin clēricātus, built from clēricus. Across these stages, the word stayed tied to the idea of clerics and came to mean the clergy as a body of ordained religious people. Italian chiericato is a close cognate from the same Latin source.
Full etymology tree
- clergé (French), 'clergy (body of persons, such as priests, who are trained and ordained for religious service)'
- inherited from clergié (Middle French), 'alternative form of clergie (“clergy”)'
- inherited from clergié (Old French), 'clergy'
- inherited from clēricātus (Late Latin)
- suffix clēricus (Latin), 'a priest, clergyman or clergywoman, cleric'
- borrowed from κληρικός (Ancient Greek), 'concerning inheritances'
- derived from κλῆρος (Ancient Greek), 'a lot'
- borrowed from κληρικός (Ancient Greek), 'concerning inheritances'
- suffix -ātus (Latin), '-ed. Used to form adjectives from nouns indicating the possession of a thing or feature.'
- suffix clēricus (Latin), 'a priest, clergyman or clergywoman, cleric'
- inherited from clēricātus (Late Latin)
- inherited from clergié (Old French), 'clergy'
- inherited from clergié (Middle French), 'alternative form of clergie (“clergy”)'
Ancestors
- clergié (Middle French)
Cognates and doublets
- chiericato (Italian)
Descendants and derived words
- bas clergé (French)
- haut clergé (French)
Updated March 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris