Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Appanage \Ap"pa*nage\, n. [F. apanage, fr. OF. apaner to
   nourish, support, fr. LL. apanare to furnish with bread, to
   provision; L. ad + pains bread.]
   1. The portion of land assigned by a sovereign prince for the
      subsistence of his younger sons.

   2. A dependency; a dependent territory.

Source : WordNet®

appanage
     n 1: any customary and rightful perquisite appropriate to your
          station in life; "for thousands of years the chair was
          an appanage of state and dignity rather than an article
          of ordinary use" [syn: {apanage}]
     2: a grant (by a sovereign or a legislative body) of resources
        to maintain a dependent member of a ruling family;
        "bishoprics were received as appanages for the younger
        sons of great families" [syn: {apanage}]