Benefice (&unr_;), n. [F. bénéfice, L. beneficium, a kindness , in LL. a grant of an estate, fr. L. beneficus beneficent; bene well + facere to do. See Benefit.]
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1. A favor or benefit. [Obs.] Baxter.
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2. (Feudal Law) An estate in lands; a fief.
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&hand_; Such an estate was granted at first for life only, and held on the mere good pleasure of the donor; but afterward, becoming hereditary, it received the appellation of fief, and the term benefice became appropriated to church livings.
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3. An ecclesiastical living and church preferment, as in the Church of England; a church endowed with a revenue for the maintenance of divine service. See Advowson.
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&hand_; All church preferments are called benefices, except bishoprics, which are called dignities. But, ordinarily, the term dignity is applied to bishoprics, deaneries, archdeaconries, and prebendaryships; benefice to parsonages, vicarages, and donatives.
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