Brewer's: Clerk

A scholar. Hence, beau-clerc. (See above, Clerical Titles .)

All the clerks, I mean the learned ones, in Christian kingdoms,  Have their free voices.

Shakespeare: Henry VIII., ii. 2.

“I think there came prancing down the hill a couple of St. Nicholas's clerks.” —Rowley: Match at Midnight, 1633.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language