'benefice-holder' originates from English, formed from 'benefice' (from Latin 'beneficium', where 'bene' meant 'well' and 'facere' meant 'to do') and 'holder' (from Old English 'healdan', where the root meant 'to hold').

'beneficium' passed into Old French as 'benefice' and entered Middle English as 'benefice' meaning a church living; later English combined that noun with 'holder' (from Old English 'healdan') to produce 'benefice-holder' meaning one who holds such a living.

Initially 'beneficium' meant 'a benefit or favor'; over time 'benefice' came to denote an ecclesiastical living that provides income, and 'benefice-holder' came to mean a person who holds that office.