What does clergywomen mean?
Clergywomen means women who are members of the clergy, generally women who serve as ordained or officially recognized religious leaders. It is the standard plural of clergywoman and is used when referring to several women in ministry or to women clergy as a group. In current English, the term is especially associated with Christian traditions, although the word clergy itself has sometimes been applied to comparable religious hierarchies. Clergywomen can identify a specific group—“The clergywomen addressed the conference”—or refer generally to women holding recognized positions in a church. The less marked alternative “female clergy” is common and may be preferable when a speaker wants to describe the whole group without explicitly marking gender. By contrast, “clergymen” identifies male members of the clergy. The word is notable because it reflects both the longstanding presence of women in religious communities and the changing range of offices and ministries they have been permitted to hold. For general readers, clergywomen is a precise collective term that identifies both the people and their recognized religious status.
nounClergywomen are women who belong to the clergy, especially women who have been ordained or officially recognized as religious leaders. The word is the plural of clergywoman and may refer to several women in ministry or to women clergy as a group.
- Women who belong to the clergy or hold recognized religious leadership roles, collectively.
"The conference invited clergywomen from several traditions to discuss their experiences in ministry."
"Several clergywomen served on the pastoral-care committee."
"Her account of the first twenty years as a clergywoman was widely read by seminarians."
The standard plural of clergywoman, formed with the irregular English -women ending.
"Clergywomen from the region met to discuss pastoral care."
Clergywomen turns one of English’s most traditional job plurals into a modern statement of women’s presence in religious leadership.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does clergywomen come from?
The word is an English compound of clergy and woman. Clergy entered Middle English through Old French from Latin clerus, a term ultimately associated with Greek klēros, meaning “lot” or “share.” Clergywoman was formed on the model of male forms such as clergyman, and its plural uses the irregular English -women ending; cleric and clerical are related derivatives of the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How clergywomen is actually used
The term is especially associated with Christian ministry, although clergy has sometimes been used for comparable religious hierarchies. “Female clergy” is a common, less explicitly gender-marked alternative. “Clergymen” is the usual male counterpart.
Easily confused with clergywomen
Clergywoman is the singular form, while clergywomen is the standard plural.