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impropriate

verb (ɪmˈprəʊprɪˌeɪt)

(tr) to transfer (property, rights, etc) from the Church into lay hands

adjective (ɪmˈprəʊprɪɪt, -ˌeɪt)

transferred in this way
Derived Formsimpropriation, nounimpropriator, noun

Word Origin for impropriate

C16: from Medieval Latin impropriāre to make one's own, from Latin im- in- ² + propriāre to appropriate
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Examples from the Web for impropriate

Historical Examples of impropriate

  • The poor vicars never got back a bit of the impropriate tithes; the seats of learning got comparatively little.

    Two Suffolk Friends

    Francis Hindes Groome

  • In a parish where there is an impropriate rectory and a vicarage, glebe may be attached to both or either.