dower

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See also: Dower

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Noun

dower (plural dowers)

  1. (law) The part of or interest in a deceased husband's property provided to his widow, usually in the form of a life estate.
  2. (law) Property given by a groom directly to his bride at or before their wedding in order to legitimize the marriage; dowry.
    • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :
      […] 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 […]
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 6:
      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. (obsolete) That with which one is gifted or endowed; endowment; gift.
    • c. 1600, John Davies, The Dignity of Man:
      How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower!
    • 1793, William Wordsworth, Descriptive Sketches:
      Man in his primeval dower arrayed.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

See also

Verb

dower (third-person singular simple present dowers, present participle dowering, simple past and past participle dowered)

  1. (transitive) To give a dower or dowry to.
    • 1861, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage:
      He had married a lady well educated and softly nurtured, but not dowered with worldly wealth.
  2. (transitive) To endow.
    • 1927, H.P. Lovecraft, The Colour Out of Space:
      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.

Derived terms

Anagrams

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French doeire, from Medieval Latin dōtārium; equivalent to dowen +‎ -er. Doublet of dowarye.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /duːˈɛːr(ə)/, /ˈduːər(ə)/

Noun

dower (plural dowers)

  1. A dower; a life estate of a male spouse's property.
  2. (rare) A gift given by the bride's family to the groom or his relatives; dowry.
  3. (rare, figurative) An intrinsic or inherent property or attribute.
  4. (rare, astrology) A portion of the world under the domination of a particular star sign.

Derived terms

Descendants

  • English: dower
  • Scots: dower

References

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