cleric
/ˈklɛɹɪk/noun, adjective
cleric is spelled C-L-E-R-I-C: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cleric means “A member of a clergy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cleric is clerics.
How many letters and syllables are in cleric?
| Letters | 6: C-L-E-R-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.4 times per million words; the 17,587th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cleric?
Cleric appears 2.4 times per million words in written English, the 17,587th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cleric?
- US /ˈklɛɹɪk/
- Australia /ˈkleɹɪk/
- /ˈkleɹək/
Cleric has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cleric.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with cleric?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as cleric from its last stressed vowel (/ɛɹɪk/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: circle.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cleric
- clerics plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cleric mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A member of a clergy.
Holonyms: clergy; see also Thesaurus:clergy
- 2
A spellcaster class that receives their spells (especially healing) from their deity.
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to the clergy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cleric in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense clergy member:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cleric come from?
Borrowed from Late Latin clēricus, from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klērikós), from κλῆρος (klêros, “a casting lots, drawing lots”). Many officers at Athens obtained their offices by lot, as opposed to election (Liddell and Scott). Doublet of clerk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).