Impropriate
/ɪmˈproʊ.pri.ət/noun
To take or assign something, especially church property, for private use; also, to make something into a benefice held by a layperson or corporation.
Did you know?In medieval church law, to impropriate something often meant transferring its revenues away from a priest and into lay hands—so the word carries the shadow of sacred wealth being redirected.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
impropriare
“to take for one's own, to appropriate”
Late Latin
Late Latin
impropriare
“to make one's own; to assign to private use”
Middle English
Middle English
impropriat(e)
“to transfer church property or revenues to lay ownership”
14th–15th Century
English
impropriate
“to appropriate ecclesiastical property, especially a benefice or its income”
Modern English
English
impropriate
“to make something appropriated or held in private possession, especially in a legal or ecclesiastical sense”
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