Without a benefice; not holding a church position or office that provides income.
From benefice + -less (the suffix meaning 'without' or 'lacking'). The -less suffix comes from Old English and Germanic roots meaning 'without' or 'helpless.'
This is the rare opposite form—describing a clergyman struggling without church income—creating a social distinction that mattered enormously in 1600 but sounds almost comical today.
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