Clergywomen

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A collective of women engaged in ministry who fulfill religious responsibilities in various faith traditions
2. Females within a denomination who take on roles of spiritual service and provide guidance to their communities
3. Women who serve as ordained ministers or religious leaders within their faith communities

Etymology: Clergywoman is a compound of two English words, "clergy" and "woman," and its history lies mostly in the second half. "Woman" comes from Old English "wīfmann," literally "wife-man" or "female person," built from "wīf" (wife, woman) and "mann" (person). The second element, "man," once meant any human being regardless of sex, which is why "woman" originally meant "female human." The "-woman" ending then attached itself to "clergy" to name a female member of the clergy, the cleric's trade being the first half of the word. "Clergy" itself reached English from Old French "clergie," which meant learning or scholarship, since in medieval Europe the clergy were largely the only educated class. The meaning of learning gave way to the body of ordained persons, and the word eventually acquired the sense of the ministry as a whole. The plural "clergywomen" simply pluralises the compound, applying the regular English rule to the final element, "woman," which becomes "women."

Synonyms: female clergy, female ministers, women clergy, women pastors, women priests

Antonyms: clergymen, male clergy