benefice

American  

[ben-uh-fis] / ˈbɛn ə fɪs /

noun

1. a position or post granted to an ecclesiastic that guarantees a fixed amount of property or income.

2. the revenue itself.

3. the equivalent of a fief in the early Middle Ages.

---

verb (used with object)

beneficed, beneficing

1. to invest with a benefice or ecclesiastical living.

benefice British  

/ ˈbɛnɪfɪs /

noun

1. Christianity an endowed Church office yielding an income to its holder; a Church living

2. the property or revenue attached to such an office

3. (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

1. (tr) to provide with a benefice

Other Word Forms

• nonbeneficed adjective
• unbeneficed adjective

Etymology

Origin of benefice

1300–50; Middle English < Middle French < Latin beneficium service, kindness ( benefic ( us ) benefic + -ium -ium )

Example Sentences

The church, she says, is one of 15 in the benefice.

From BBC • Jul. 16, 2023

The benefice of Middleton was merged with neighbouring Great Henny.

From BBC • Jul. 16, 2023

Its marble lions gaze out with dignity over trash and traffic alike, and the lofty portico proclaims the institution's origins in the heady days of 19th century hope and public benefice.

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

Mr. Brontë, after having been nearly five years minister of Hartshead-cum-Clifton, resigned the benefice, and accepted, from the vicar of Bradford, the incumbency of Thornton, a perpetual curacy in that parish.

From The Bront? Family, Vol. 1 of 2 with special reference to Patrick Branwell Bront? by Leyland, Francis A.

Related Words

• district