parsonage

American  

[pahr-suh-nij] / ˈpɑr sə nɪdʒ /

noun

1. the residence of a member of the clergy, as provided by the parish or church.

2. English Ecclesiastical Law. the benefice of a parson.

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parsonage British  

/ ˈpɑːsənɪdʒ /

noun

1. the residence of a parson who is not a rector or vicar, as provided by the parish

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

parsonage

Noel Edward Hord, the fourth of five children, was born on July 10, 1946, and grew up in a church parsonage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

If any place should be haunted, it is the Brontë parsonage.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

The parsonage between the village and the moors where the Brontes lived with their clergyman father and brother, Branwell, is now a museum dedicated to their memory.

From Barron's ● Feb. 28, 2026

In 1820, the Brontes moved to the parsonage in Howarth, where the sisters wrote masterpieces including Emily's Wuthering Heights and Charlotte's Jane Eyre.

From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2023

Then he left the parsonage and sprinted to Mrs. Cobb’s house, where Lizzie would be waiting and dripping inside the kitchen—Mrs. Cobb had started to leave the back door open for her.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt