noun

1. a layman who has certain minor duties in a church
2. an office worker who keeps records, types letters, does filing, etc.
3. an official in charge of the records, accounts, etc. of a school board, court, town, etc.
4. ☆ a hotel employee who keeps the register, assigns guests to rooms, etc.
5. ☆ a person who sells in a store; salesclerk
6. a person who handles mail, etc., as in a post office
7. Archaic a clergyman
8. Archaic a literate person; scholar

Etymology: ME < OFr & OE clerc, both < LL(Ec) clericus, a priest < Gr(Ec) klērikos, a cleric < klēros, lot, inheritance (later, from use in LXX, Deut. 18:2, of the Levites, hence the Christian clergy), orig., a shard used in casting lots < IE *klaro- < base *kel-, to strike > OIr clar, a board, tablet, L calamitas, calamity

intransitive verb