Skip to main content
clerkship

clerkship

6 7.1
A fixed time working as an assistant to a judge, lawyer, or doctor
  • noun
  • /ˈklɜrkˌʃɪp/
  • Formal
: pasantía
  • Getting a clerkship is not a guarantee of lifetime employment in a fulfilling job.
  • year clerkship

I would prefer not to take a clerkship.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • In the summer of 1953, Earl E. Pollock was awarded a clerkship in the chambers of the Chief Justice of the United States, Fred M. Vinson.

    Academic text (2004)
  • After his clerkship, he took the Arizona Bar and spent sixteen years in private practice as a civil litigator in Phoenix.

    Academic text (2007)
  • I think I might be in line for a clerkship.

  • I was only three years away from a clerkship, so I thought he would show a little kindness to me as his clerk.

    Academic text (1993)
  • l just finished a clerkship with Justice Frankfurter.

  • During my clerkship, the Court considered whether resident aliens could be probation officers.

    Academic text (1994)
  • After the war, White picked up his law studies at Yale, graduating with honors and winning a clerkship with Chief Justice Fred Vinson.

    Academic text (1993)
  • After a judicial clerkship, he went into private practice in New Jersey for four years, leaving in 1997 to become an assistant public defender in Tampa.

    Academic text (2011)
  • At our institution of King Faisal University Medical College, medical students are required to complete 5-10 hours of dermatology didactic lectures and 2 weeks of dermatology clerkship offered in the fifth year of medical school.

    Academic text (2007)
  • I just finished a clerkship with Justice Frankfurter, where I gained valuable legal experience.

How Professional

fellowship
  • Specialized
50 6.0
clerkship
  • Formal
6 7.1
job
∞ 1.0
casual
  • UK
2 5.6

Surface Forms

clerkship singular
clerkships plural

Morphology

clerkship = clerk (transparent) = clerk + ship

Formed by the noun 'clerk' + the productive suffix '-ship' meaning 'position, office, or status', so the meaning 'position of a clerk' is directly derivable.

Etymology

Clerkship comes from clerk + -ship, and clerk originally meant a member of the clergy, a 'church worker' who could read and write. Because those church workers kept records, clerk came to mean 'someone who does office work', and -ship means 'state or position', so clerkship is the 'period or position of working as a clerk'.