glebe

[gleeb]

noun

1. Also called glebe land. Chiefly British.,  the cultivable land owned by a parish church or ecclesiastical benefice.

2. Archaic.,  soil; field.

glebe

/ ɡliːb /

noun

1. land granted to a clergyman as part of his benefice

2. poetic,  land, esp when regarded as the source of growing things

Other Word Forms

• glebeless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of glebe¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Latin glēba, glaeba clod of earth

Word History and Origins

Origin of glebe¹

C14: from Latin glaeba

Example Sentences

The enslaved were included with the glebe, the land and home used by the minister.

From Washington Times

I got off at Druggers End and went round the back of the village hall and over the glebe, alone.

From Literature

His imagination had no need of anything more stirring than that presented to him by the recollection of human vicissitudes amidst glebe and glade.

From Project Gutenberg

He extinguishes the Ribbon lodge, fastens his tenantry by equitable leases to the glebe, and gradually finds in the management of his estate a career of easy, pleasant, and even prosperous power.

From Project Gutenberg

In the fine pasturage of the glebe meadows, the red-brown cows were gathered under a tree, out of the hot sparkle of the sun.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• clay 
• coast 
• dirt 
• dust 
• gravel 
• land 
• mud 
• sand 
• shore 
• surface 
• terrain 
• turf