in commendam
- idiom
- Archaic
:
en commendam
- The bishop held the abbey in commendam and received its revenues without living there.
Examples
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The lands were managed in commendam until a permanent abbot was appointed.
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Several church offices were granted in commendam to nobles who did not perform the usual duties.
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The bishop appointed Father John in commendam until a new priest arrives.
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She served in commendam for two years before the new pastor was selected.
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The bishop held the abbey in commendam and received its revenues without living there.
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Several church offices were granted in commendam to nobles who did not perform the usual duties.
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She served in commendam for two years before the new pastor was selected.
How Temporary
Surface Forms
Morphology
in + commendam
This is a Latin ecclesiastical/legal term whose key lexical element 'commendam' is not a familiar English word and therefore a B1 learner knowing only 'in' cannot infer the specialized meaning 'a benefice temporarily entrusted'. The expression is language-specific and technical rather than compositionally built from common English constituents, so its meaning is not derivable from the parts.
Etymology
In commendam comes from a Latin phrase that meant 'in trust'. Long ago, a church office or land was handed to someone to look after and take the income for a short time without living there. That's why in commendam now means 'temporarily held or entrusted'.