Clerk
The word
clerk, derived from the Latin
clericus meaning 'cleric', i.e. clergyman (Latin was the foremost language used at most early medieval courts, writing mainly entrusted to clergy as most laymen couldn't even read), can denote someone who works in an
office and whose duties include record-keeping or correspondence. In
British English, although spelt clerk, the word is pronounced as if spelt with an 'a' (i.e. clark).
In a medieval context, the word meant "
Scholar" and still related to the word "
cleric". Even today, the term
Clerk regular designates a type of regular clerics.
The cognate terms in some languages, e.g.
Klerk in Dutch, became restricted to a specific, fairly low rank in the administrative hierarchy.
Various functions or offices, generally of such 'clerical' nature, include the word and an indication of the task and/or employer, that is lower in position e.g.
*
City clerk*
Clerk of the Peace*
Clerk of the Closet and
Deputy Clerk of the Closet*
Clerk of the Green Cloth*
County clerk*
Court clerk*
Data entry clerk*
Law clerk*
Clerk (choral) the name given to adult members of the
choir at certain
Colleges at
Oxford and
Cambridge Universities. Clerks Choral is also the name given to the adult members of professional choirs in a number of Cathedrals and Collegiate Churches in Great Britain and Ireland.
*
Patent clerk*
Clerk of Works, the highly qualified
non-commissioned tradesmen in the
Royal Engineers.
*
Clerk of the Works, a person employed by the client on the site of a
building construction project to represent his interests.
*
Clerk of the Privy Council, the senior
civil servant in the Canadian federal government and Secretary to the
Canadian Cabinet.
However in large offices and organisations which require an administrative hierarchy, some titles simply indicate the relative rank of certain clerical positions, e.g.
Head Clerk,
Junior Clerk,
Senior Clerk.
Alternatively a clerk is a person who sells items in a
store or performs services at a desk, as in a hotel at reception.
The
surnames Clark, Clarke, Clerk, Clerke are derived from this occupation.
*
Secretary*
Clerk (Quaker)
