1. A provision, allowance, or estate granted by a ruler to a younger son or member of the royal family.
Usage: historical; often used in European royal contexts
2. A natural accompaniment, attribute, or possession that belongs to someone or something.
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The king granted his youngest son an apanage of fertile lands in the south.
• In medieval France, apanages were commonly given to princes who would not inherit the throne.
• Wealth and influence became the apanage of the merchant class during the Renaissance.
• Good health is often considered an apanage of youth.
• The castle served as an apanage for the duke's second son.
• Political power was once the exclusive apanage of the nobility.