clerkly

American  

[klurk-lee, klahrk-lee] / ˈklɜrk li, ˈklɑrk li /

adjective

clerklier, clerkliest

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a clerk.

2. Archaic. scholarly.

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adverb

1. in the manner of a clerk.

clerkly British  

/ ˈklɑːklɪ /

adjective

1. of or like a clerk

2. obsolete learned

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adverb

1. obsolete in the manner of a clerk

Other Word Forms

• clerkliness noun
• unclerkly adjective

Etymology

Origin of clerkly

First recorded in 1400–50, clerkly is from the late Middle English word clerkli. See clerk, -ly

Example Sentences

I hadn’t realised how deeply the ancient sense of proprietorship by the powerful over the depiction of love was embedded in literary, that is clerkly, English.

From The Guardian • Sep. 6, 2019

And yet we are all in it together; the peasantification of clerkdom goes hand in hand with the replacement of drudge work by machines or by knowledge work – clerkly work.

From The Guardian • Sep. 6, 2019

The young clerks made jokes about him to the best of their clerkly wit, and told before his face all 35 sorts of stories of their own invention about him.

From SAT Tests

Then, programmed with the price per lb., it calculates and prints out the cost; this largely eliminates the time-consuming process of clerkly computation.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Pilot took up two fat little books, in which a diary had been kept in a clear, clerkly hand.

From The Tale of Timber Town by Grace, Alfred A. (Alfred Augustus)