corrody

/ˈkɒɹədi/

Etymology

From Latin corrodium, corredium, conredium (“furniture, provision”): compare Old French conroi. See curry.

Why this word is great

CORRODY — [Noun] A pension or annuity provided by a religious institution for maintenance. From Latin corrodium, corredium, conredium ("furniture, provision"), related to Old French conroi ("equipment, provision"). Unlike "pension" (a secular guarantee of retirement income) or "stipend" (compensation for service), a corrody was a sacred bargain—alms in exchange for devotion. It is the quiet clink of coins in a monastery’s alms box, the slow unfurling of a vellum deed promising bread and bed, the last earthly comfort of a widow who has traded her worldly goods for the prayers of the cloistered. A relic of an age when faith could be banked.

noun

A form of pension or annuity given by a religious institution as provision for maintenance.“The corrody became first and foremost a grant of money or victuals, or other means of livelihood, made by a monastery or other religious or charitable corporation to dependents on its bounty.”