Plural of churchman; male members of the clergy collectively; ordained male members of a church.
Regular plural of churchman formed with -en (an archaic or alternative plural marker that survives in words like 'children,' 'oxen,' 'brethren').
English plurals are a mess of history—'men,' 'children,' 'geese' are Old English strong plurals that survived, while regular nouns added -s (French-influenced)—so 'churchmen' is archaic-sounding because we'd now say 'churchmen' less often than 'clergy' or 'ministers.'
Plural of 'churchman'; inherits gendered assumptions about male religious authority and leadership roles from institutional exclusion of women.
Use 'clergy', 'church leaders', or 'clergy members' instead.
["clergy","church leaders","clergy members","ordained ministers"]
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