impropriate

verb (ɪmˈprəʊprɪˌeɪt)

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

adjective (ɪmˈprəʊprɪɪt, -ˌeɪt)

transferred in this way

Nearby words

impromptu, improper, improper fraction, improper integral, improperia, impropriate, impropriety, improv, improve, improve on, improvement

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

In a parish where there is an impropriate rectory and a vicarage, glebe may be attached to both or either.
The Legal Position of the Clergy|P. V. Smith
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