A man who works in or manages a church, such as a sexton or church officer; a churchwarden.
From Middle English, combining 'kirk' (Scottish/Northern English word for church, from Old Norse 'kirkja') and 'man.' Common in Scottish and Northern English communities.
The 'kirk' word survived in Scottish English because the Norse Vikings who settled Scotland used 'kirkja' for their own churches, and it stuck around even as Southern England switched to the Latin-derived 'church'—a linguistic echo of ancient Viking settlements.
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