释义 |
benefit of clergy Etymology: translation of Medieval Latin beneficium clericale 1. : the privilege claimed by the medieval church of demanding a trial and punishment by an ecclesiastical court for a member of the clergy accused of crime before a temporal court 2. : the ministration or sanction of the church — used chiefly of the marriage rite < a man and a girl living together without benefit of clergy — Wolcott Gibbs > |