clerk-ale

noun

A feast for the benefit of the parish clerk.

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Meanings

nounclerk-ale (plural clerk-ales)

plural clerk-ales

  1. UKobsoleteA feast for the benefit of the parish clerk.

    That ALE is festival, appears from its sense in composition; as, amongst others, in the words Lecet-ale, Lamb-ale, Whitson-ale, Clerk-ale, and Church-ale

    1774-1781, Thomas Warton, History of English Poetry
Cite this entry
APA

clerk-ale. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clerk-ale

MLA

“clerk-ale.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clerk-ale. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clerk-ale,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clerk-ale.

Source: clerk-ale on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.