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
- 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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Swift was lucky to be left with a dreary benefice in Dublin, the deanship of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
From Time Magazine Archive
Besides the sippin' and the stars, Austin happens to have one of the lowest costs of living of any metropolitan area in the nation, a benefice not lost on University of Texas graduates.
From Time Magazine Archive
They were supposed to comprise the first year's income from the bishop's or abbot's benefice.
From A Source Book of Medi?val History Documents Illustrative of European Life and Institutions from the German Invasions to the Renaissance by Ogg, Frederic Austin
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.
