Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - clerk

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~ & Old English cleric, clerc, both from Late Latin clericus, from Late Greek klerikos, from Greek kleros lot, inheritance (in allusion to Deuteronomy 18:2), stick of wood; akin to Greek klan to break — more at clast  Date: before 12th century  1. cleric  2. archaic scholar  3.  a. an official responsible (as to a government agency) for correspondence, records, and accounts and vested with specified powers or authority (as to issue writs as ordered by a court) city ~  b. one employed to keep records or accounts or to perform general office work  c. one who works at a sales or service counter  • ~ship noun  II. intransitive verb  Date: 1551 to act or work as a ~