noun
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the life interest in a part of her husband's estate allotted to a widow by law
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an archaic word for dowry
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a natural gift or talent
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dower
1250–1300; Middle English dowere < Old French do ( u ) aire < Medieval Latin dōtārium. See dot 2, -ary
Vocabulary lists containing dower
Selection Vocabulary 4, Unit 5
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Vocabulary from the Magna Carta, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Visitors made note of his slaves, and the vast number of "dower" slaves at Mount Vernon estate.
From Salon • Jun. 28, 2020
In order to qualify as worthy husbands, Singerman says, Egyptian grooms and their families need to save up for dower money or jewellery to give the bride.
From BBC • Oct. 30, 2015
Wealthy "Daddy" Browning married her in 1926 when she was 15, cut her out of his will before he died in 1934, but she got dower rights of $5,000 a year.
From Time Magazine Archive
Its gaily painted kitchen cabinets, dower chests, desks and tables, Bethlehem painted glass, grotesque Germanic Toby jugs and brightly colored tinware are far more colorful than the prim, functional antiques of New England.
From Time Magazine Archive
When Martha Washington died in May 1802, some of the Custis dower slaves were divided among her four grandchildren, and others were freed.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
