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Meaning & use

parsonage house

noun·Advancedold-fashioned

Last updated

UK/ˈpɑːsənɪdʒ haʊs/
US/ˈpɑːrsənɪdʒ haʊs/

Meaning

  1. nouncountableold-fashionedreligion

    The house provided by a church for its minister or vicar to live in.

    Grammar: Countable; the church, not the minister, owns it.

    Patterns

    • live in the parsonage house
    • the parsonage house of a village

    The parsonage house stood next to the old stone church.

    The vicar's family moved into the parsonage house in spring.

    A visitor knocked at the parsonage house just after dark.

Word forms

pluralparsonage houses

Common combinations

the old parsonage house
The old parsonage house now serves as a village museum.
live in the parsonage house
The minister's widow was allowed to live in the parsonage house.
the parsonage house garden
They held the summer fair in the parsonage house garden.
repair the parsonage house
The parish voted to repair the parsonage house roof.

Synonyms and how they differ

parsonage
Parsonage is the shorter, more usual word with the same meaning.
vicarage
Vicarage is the usual word in the Church of England for a vicar's home.
rectory
Rectory is the home of a rector, a specific rank of priest.
manse
Manse is used in Scottish and some Presbyterian churches.

Word family

parson noun
a parish minister, especially Anglican
parsonage noun
the minister's house
parish noun
a local church area
clergy noun
ordained church officials

Commonly confused: parsonage house or person?

parsonage house vs person

A person is any human being; a parson is a minister, and the two words sound close but differ in spelling and meaning.

Practice

Who would normally live in a parsonage house?

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