This word was originally the same as ‘cleric’. The change of meaning to ‘one who keeps written records’ and the like came about because at one time the members of the clergy tended to be the only literate people in the district....

Clerk, the vocational title, commonly refers to a white collar office worker who conducts general office or (in some instances) sales tasks. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service counters and...