English

edit

Etymology

edit

From pre- +‎ clerical.

Adjective

edit

preclerical (not comparable)

  1. Before the development of the clergy.
    • 2007, Daniel Burston, Erik Erikson and the American Psyche: Ego, Ethics, and Evolution, page 132:
      And on the other hand, Tolstoy's attempt to recapture the ethos of "primitive," preclerical Christianity enjoined a dramatic detachment from personal wealth and possessions, a communitarian communism []