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Jackson6612 Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

an ecclesiastical benefice without cure of souls

sinecure
1 archaic: an ecclesiastical benefice without cure of souls
[M-W's Col. Dic.]

What does cure of souls mean?
  

Top answer

Hi, The responsibilty of taking care of people's religious needs. eg a priest who has a church takes care of the souls of the churchgoers. eg a priest who takes care of the Vatican's computer system does not take care of people's souls.

— Clive

  • Hi, The responsibilty of taking care of people's religious needs.
  • eg a priest who has a church takes care of the souls of the churchgoers.
  • eg a priest who takes care of the Vatican's computer system does not take care of people's souls.
  • We see the rather archaic term 'cure' in such modern words as 'curate'.
  • A more common use of the term 'sinecure' is for any paid job that does not require the holder to do any real work.
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2 Answers
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Hi,
The responsibilty of taking care of people's religious needs.
eg a priest who has a church takes care of the souls of the churchgoers.
eg a priest who takes care of the Vatican's computer system does not take care of people's souls.

We see the rather archaic term 'cure' in such modern words as 'curate'.

A more common use of the term 'sinecure' is for any paid job
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I'm afraid I'd really have to research this. The absence of the "cure" is obviously essential to the term, since "sine" means without. Perhaps it refers to an official position in the church which does not include the "saving" of souls among its duties. Just a guess. - A.

Edit. Wow, Clive has the "cure" aspect nailed! "care" It seems surprising that the dictionary uses an archai
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