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

Gaudier's father was a carpenter who was pleased when his son won scholarships, not so pleased when the scholarship led to garrety art instead of clerkly business.

From Time Magazine Archive

She sorted them and found the one addressed in Mr. Howbridge’s clerkly hand to “Miss Dorothy Kenway.”

From The Corner House Girls How they moved to Milton, what they found, and what they did by Hill, Grace Brooks