benefice
/ˈbɛnɪfɪs/ noun, verb
Forms benefices beneficing beneficed
- noun Land granted to a priest in a church that has a source of income attached to it.
- noun (obsolete) A favour or benefit.
- noun (feudal law) An estate in lands; a fief.
- verb To bestow a benefice upon
Synonyms
Etymology
From Old French benefice, from Latin beneficium.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A favor or benefit. [Obs.] Baxter.
- noun An estate in lands; a fief.
- verb To endow with a benefice.
Etymology [F. bénéfice, L. beneficium, a kindness , in LL. a grant of an estate, fr. L. beneficus beneficent; bene well + facere to do. See Benefit.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “benefice”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details