impropriate

verb (ɪmˈprəʊprɪˌeɪt)

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

adjective (ɪmˈprəʊprɪɪt, -ˌeɪt)

transferred in this way

Words nearby impropriate

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

Derived forms of impropriate

impropriation, 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