benefice
benefice (ben-[schwa]-fis). 1. Hist. A feudal estate in land, held during the life of the tenant. See BENEFICIUM(3). “[T]he vassal no longer owns the land, but ‘holds’ it ‘of’ the lord — the vassal has become a ‘tenant’ (from the Latin, ‘tenere’, to hold). The vassal’s interest in the land so held, first called a […]