Hypertext Webster Gateway: "perquisite"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Perquisite \Per"qui*site\, n. [L. perquisitum, fr. perquisitus,
p. p. of perquirere to ask for diligently; per + quaerere to
seek. See {Per-}, and {Quest}.]
1. Something gained from a place or employment over and above
the ordinary salary or fixed wages for services rendered;
especially, a fee allowed by law to an officer for a
specific service.
The pillage of a place taken by storm was regarded
as the perquisite of the soldiers. --Prescott.
The best perquisites of a place are the advantages
it gaves a man of doing good. --Addison.
2. pl. (Law) Things gotten by a man's own industry, or
purchased with his own money, as opposed to things which
come to him by descent. --Mozley & W.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
perquisite
n 1: an incidental benefit awarded for certain types of
employment (especially if it is regarded as a right); "a
limousine is one of the fringe benefits of the job"
[syn: {fringe benefit}, {perk}]
2: a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group
(especially a hereditary or official right); "suffrage was
the prerogative of white adult males" [syn: {prerogative},
{privilege}, {exclusive right}]
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