Plural of 'clergy' or 'clergie,' referring to multiple groups of ordained religious officials or the collective body of priests and ministers.
From Old French 'clergie,' derived from 'clerk' (a learned person, originally one who could read and write in the Church). The word evolved through Middle English to refer specifically to ordained religious officials.
In medieval times, 'clergie' meant both 'clergy' and 'learning' itself—because being able to read and write was almost exclusively a clerical skill, the words merged, making priests and educated people nearly synonymous.
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