dower

noun

/ˈdaʊ.əɹ//ˈdaʊ.ə(ɹ)/UK/ˈdaw.ɚ/US

Etymology

From Middle English dower, dowere, from Old French doeire, from Medieval Latin dōtārium, from Latin dōs. Doublet of dowry.

The part of or interest in a deceased husband's property provided to his widow, usually…
The part of or interest in a deceased husband's property provided to his widow, usually in the form of a life estate.
2
Property given by a groom to his bride or her family, at or before their wedding, in…
Property given by a groom to his bride or her family, at or before their wedding, in order to legitimize the marriage
- […] how features are abroad, / I am skill-less of; but, by my modesty,— / The jewel in my dower,—I would not wish / Any companion in the world but you […]
- In New Bedford, fathers, they say, give whales for dowers to their daughters, and portion off their nieces with a few porpoises a-piece.
3
That with which one is gifted or endowed
That with which one is gifted or endowed; endowment; gift.
- How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower!
- Man in his primeval dower arrayed.
- For though God had bestowed on her the rare dower of a fine mind, He had not added to it the much more common, though infinitely less precious gift, of a quick intellect.
›+ 4 more definitionsshow fewer
1. 4
  To give a dower or dowry to.
  - He had married a lady well educated and softly nurtured, but not dowered with worldly wealth.
2. 5
  To endow.
  - It was nothing of this earth, but a piece of the great outside; and as such dowered with outside properties and obedient to outside laws.
3. Alternative spelling of dougher.
4. A surname.

No curated loop yet for dower. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA