impropriate
Definition
- Verb (transitive):
- To transfer ecclesiastical property to lay ownership or control: "impropriate" refers to the act of placing church lands, tithes, or other religious assets under the authority or possession of a secular person or institution, typically for private benefit rather than religious use.
Usage Examples
- (The church property was given to a secular ruler.)
- (The church taxes were taken over by laypeople.)
Advanced Usage
"to impropriate a benefice": to assign the income of a church office to a layperson or institution.
- The bishop decided to impropriate the vicarage to the nearby college. (The income from the church position was given to the college.)
"impropriated church": a church whose revenues have been transferred to lay control.
- The impropriated church still held services but its profits went to the local squire. (The church's income was no longer under church authority.)
Variants and Related Words
Impropriation (noun): the act or process of impropriating; the state of being so transferred.
- The impropriation of the abbey's assets caused a legal dispute. (The transfer of church property to lay control led to a conflict.)
Impropriator (noun): a person or institution that holds impropriated property.
- The impropriator collected the tithes from the parish. (The lay owner received the church taxes.)
Synonyms
- Secularize: to make secular; to remove from religious control.
- Alienate: to transfer ownership or control to another party.
- Appropriate: to take possession of for one's own use.
Antonyms
- Consecrate: to make sacred or dedicate to religious use.
- Restore: to give back to church or religious authority.
Historical Context
This term is primarily used in historical or legal contexts, especially regarding English ecclesiastical law from the medieval period through the 19th century. It is rare in modern everyday language but appears in discussions of church history, property law, and the dissolution of monasteries.