benefice
Americannoun
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a position or post granted to an ecclesiastic that guarantees a fixed amount of property or income.
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the revenue itself.
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the equivalent of a fief in the early Middle Ages.
verb (used with object)
noun
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Christianity an endowed Church office yielding an income to its holder; a Church living
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the property or revenue attached to such an office
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(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
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of benefice
1300–50; Middle English < Middle French < Latin beneficium service, kindness ( benefic ( us ) benefic + -ium -ium )
Vocabulary lists containing benefice
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The benefice of Middleton was merged with neighbouring Great Henny.
From BBC • Jul. 16, 2023
The church, she says, is one of 15 in the benefice.
From BBC • Jul. 16, 2023
Swift was lucky to be left with a dreary benefice in Dublin, the deanship of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
From Time Magazine Archive
That it has taken the House until 1970 to bestow such a benefice on the electorate is a commentary in itself.
From Time Magazine Archive
He held a benefice in the Cathedral of Noyon, his native town, and at seventeen he drew additional revenue from a curacy in a neighboring parish.
From Caricature and Other Comic Art in all Times and many Lands. by Parton, James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
