Wiktionary

dower

See also: Dower

English edit

Etymology edit

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

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

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[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
      […] 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 edit

Antonyms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

See also edit

Verb edit

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. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Anagrams edit

Middle English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

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

Pronunciation edit

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

Noun edit

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.

Descendants edit

  • English: dower
  • Scots: dower

References edit

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