clerk

clerk

C0402900 (klûrk)n.1. A person who works in an office performing such tasks as keeping records, attending to correspondence, or filing.2. a. A person who keeps the records and performs the regular business of a court, legislative body, or municipal district.b. Law A law clerk, as for a judge.3. A person who works at a sales counter or service desk, as at a store or hotel.4. A cleric.5. Archaic A scholar.intr.v. clerked, clerk·ing, clerks To work or serve as a clerk: clerked in a store; clerks for a judge.

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[Middle English, clergyman, secretary, from Old English clerc and Old French clerc, clergyman, both from Late Latin clēricus, from Greek klērikos, belonging to the clergy, from klēros, inheritance, lot.]

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clerk′dom n.clerk′ship′ n.Word History: The pronunciation of the word clerk in Middle English and early modern English was something like (klĕrk), with the (ĕ) vowel found in the standard American pronunciation of words like bed, cleft, deck, and men, but used before (r). This pronunciation of er before a consonant as (ĕr), inherited from Middle English, can still be heard in the traditional speech of some parts of Scotland and Ireland today. But the sound combination (ĕr) is no longer found in the standard American pronunciation of words like clerk. During the history of the dialects of Britain that are ancestral to American dialects, probably around the end of the 16th century, Middle English (ĕr) usually became (ûr), as in the American pronunciation of jerk, pert, and clerk itself. In the case of clerk, however, an alternative pronunciation (klärk)—or perhaps more like (klărk), with the vowel (ă) of cat—arose in the south of England, apparently in the 15th century. It was spelled both clark and clerk. Because the word clerk was pronounced with (är) rather than (ĕr) in the south of England, the vowels in the word did not become (ûr). Later, when people began to "drop their r's" in the dialects of southern England during the 18th century, clerk came to be pronounced (kläk), with a long vowel (ä), as it is still pronounced in the Received Pronunciation of clerk in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the American colonies and early United States were being populated by immigrants speaking dialects in which the historical change of (klĕrk) to (klärk) had not occurred, and the standard modern American pronunciation of the word became (klûrk). The other pronunciation (klärk) is used in the United States only in the proper name Clark. Similar changes of (ĕ) to (ä) before (r), occurring at various points in the history of Middle and Early Modern English, have given rise to parson (beside person), varsity (beside university), and even varmint (beside vermin).

clerk

(klɑːk; US Canadian klɜːrk) n1. a worker, esp in an office, who keeps records, files, etc2. (Law) clerk to the justices (in England) a legally qualified person who sits in court with lay justices to advise them on points of law3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) an employee of a court, legislature, board, corporation, etc, who keeps records and accounts, etc: a town clerk. 4. (Parliamentary Procedure) Also called: clerk of the House (in the UK) a senior official of the House of Commons5. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Also called: clerk in holy orders a cleric6. (Commerce) US and Canadian short for salesclerk7. Also called: desk clerk US and Canadian a hotel receptionist8. (Historical Terms) archaic a scholarvb (intr) to serve as a clerk[Old English clerc, from Church Latin clēricus, from Greek klērikos cleric, relating to the heritage (alluding to the Biblical Levites, whose inheritance was the Lord), from klēros heritage] ˈclerkdom n ˈclerkish adj ˈclerkship n

clerk

(klɜrk; Brit. klɑrk)

n. 1. a person employed to keep records, file, type, or do other general office tasks. 2. a salesclerk. 3. a person who keeps the records and performs the routine business of a court, legislature, etc. 4. a cleric; ecclesiastic. 5. Archaic. a scholar. v.i. 6. to act or serve as a clerk. [before 1000; Middle English, Old English clerc, variant of cleric < Late Latin clēricus cleric] clerk′ish, adj. clerk′ship, n.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	clerk - an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)desk clerk, hotel clerk, hotel desk clerk - a hotel receptionistemployee - a worker who is hired to perform a jobfile clerk, filing clerk, filer - a clerk who is employed to maintain the files of an organizationpaper-pusher - a clerk or bureaucrat who does paperworkpencil pusher, penpusher - a clerk who does boring paperworkmapper, plotter - a clerk who marks data on a chartmail clerk, postal clerk - a clerk in a post officesettler - a clerk in a betting shop who calculates the winningsshipping clerk - an employee who ships and receives goodssorter - a clerk who sorts things (as letters at the post office)tally clerk, tallyman - one who keeps a tally of quantity or weight of goods produced or shipped or receivedtimekeeper - a clerk who keeps track of the hours worked by employees
	2.	clerk - a salesperson in a store salesclerk, shop assistant, shop clerksales rep, sales representative, salesperson - a person employed to represent a business and to sell its merchandise (as to customers in a store or to customers who are visited)shop boy - a young male shop assistantshop girl - a young female shop assistant
Verb	1.	clerk - work as a clerk, as in the legal businesswork - exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor"

clerk

noun1. One who sells:salesclerk, salesgirl, salesman, salesperson, saleswoman, seller, vender.2. A person ordained for service in a Christian church:churchman, churchwoman, clergyman, clergywoman, cleric, clerical, divine, ecclesiastic, minister, parson, preacher.Informal: reverend.

Translations

书记员办事员售货员店员文书

clerk

(klaːk) , ((American) klə:k) noun1. a person who deals with letters, accounts etc in an office. 辦事員，文書 办事员，文书 2. a public official in charge of the business affairs of the town council etc. the town clerk. (市政廳等的)書記員 书记员3. (American) a shop-assistant. (美語)店員 店员

clerk

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