dower chest

noun

1. a Pennsylvania Dutch hope chest bearing the initials of the owner.

Word History and Origins

Origin of dower chest¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

This is considered one of the best examples of chests in existence, being wonderfully carved, of solid oak, and probably used originally as a dower chest.

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From the days when the dower chest contained a small compartment for valuable trinkets the furniture of the lady's boudoir has been incomplete without a jewel box or some article of furniture where the knick-knacks of the home could be kept, and more especially the wearable jewellery.

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If there is one piece of furniture above another that is surrounded with a halo of romance, surely it is the dower chest!

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In the Castle Museum there is another chest made for Queen Philippa in 1333—a veritable dower chest.

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The dower chest, in which the bride brought to her husband household linen and her stock of clothing, and in the wooden compartment in one corner of the chest her jewels and coin of the realm—if she possessed any—was then a prominent piece of furniture.

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