benefice
a position or post granted to an ecclesiastic that guarantees a fixed amount of property or income.
the revenue itself.
the equivalent of a fief in the early Middle Ages.
to invest with a benefice or ecclesiastical living.
Origin of benefice
1Other words from benefice
- non·ben·e·ficed, adjective
- un·ben·e·ficed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use benefice in a sentence
Benefices and missions of the bishopric of Camarines, and the number of souls instructed therein.
Rome, for the time being, had overruled the question of the benefices contrary to Nozaledaʼs wish.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanWe have provided our clerical members with good benefices, parishes, posts at Court.
Secret Societies And Subversive Movements | Nesta H. WebsterBut simony, or the sale of ecclesiastical benefices, was a still more alarming evil to the mind of Gregory.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume V | John LordHe saw the genius of Becket and made him his chancellor, loading him with honors and perquisites and Church benefices.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume V | John Lord
British Dictionary definitions for benefice
/ (ˈbɛnɪfɪs) /
Christianity an endowed Church office yielding an income to its holder; a Church living
the property or revenue attached to such an office
(in feudal society) a tenement (piece of land) held by a vassal from a landowner on easy terms or free, esp in return for military support: See also vassalage
(tr) to provide with a benefice
Origin of benefice
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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