benefit of clergy
noun
the rites or sanctions of a church.
formal marriage: living together withoutbenefit of clergy.
the privilege claimed by church authorities to try and punish, by an ecclesiastical court, any member of the clergy accused of a serious crime. The privilege was abolished in the U.S. in 1790 and in England in 1827.
Origin of benefit of clergy
First recorded in 1480–90
Words nearby benefit of clergy
beneficial,
beneficiary,
beneficiate,
benefit,
benefit in kind,
benefit of clergy,
benefit of the doubt,
benefit society,
benelux,
benemid,
benempt
British Dictionary definitions for benefit of clergy
benefit of clergy
noun Christianity
sanction by the church
marriage without benefit of clergy
(in the Middle Ages) a privilege that placed the clergy outside the jurisdiction of secular courts and entitled them to trial in ecclesiastical courts