parsonage
Americannoun
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the residence of a member of the clergy, as provided by the parish or church.
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English Ecclesiastical Law. the benefice of a parson.
noun
Etymology
Origin of parsonage
1250–1300; Middle English personage < Anglo-French, equivalent to Medieval Latin persōnāticum benefice. See parson, -age
Explanation
Parsonage is a somewhat old-fashioned term for the housing a church provides to its clergy. The priest of a church in the English countryside might live in a nearby parsonage. Parsonage literally means "house for a parson," and a parson is the member of the clergy, mainly in the British Anglican church, although Lutherans often use this terminology too. Other names for a parsonage include rectory, clergy house, or vicarage. One of the perks of being a priest in a small, rural church would be getting to live in a charming parsonage.
Vocabulary lists containing parsonage
"The Red Shoes" by Hans Christian Andersen
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"The Parson's Daughter of Oxney Colne" by Anthony Trollope
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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.
Perhaps, given your vocation, you also benefited from a parsonage at some point.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
This particular "Mass Wuther" perhaps has an even stronger claim than most – it's held on Penistone Hill, not far from the famous Brontë parsonage in Haworth, in the Pennines.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
As do the moors that stretch behind the parsonage.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
Until very recently, so did the British architect Ben Pentreath, who with his husband, plantsman Charlie McCormick, transformed a parsonage garden in the Bride Valley into an Instagram sensation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Yes, fine, on the parsonage grounds, there also grew a yew tree.
From "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
