dowry

[dou-ree]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dowry ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural dow·ries.

Also dower. the money, goods, or estate that a wife brings to her husband at marriage.

Archaic. a widow's dower.

a natural gift, endowment, talent, etc.

Also dowery.

Origin of dowry

1250–1300; Middle English dowerie < Anglo-French douarie < Medieval Latin dōtārium. See dot², -ary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dowry

right, custom, culture, legacy, ancestry, tradition, endowment, skill, talent, gift, outlook, precedence, rank, sphere, standing, prosperity, footing, state, station, lot

Examples from the Web for dowry

Contemporary Examples of dowry

Once the dowry has been cashed, there is no financial reason to keep the wife around.
Has Malala Become a Puppet of the West?
Nico Hines
April 12, 2014
The woman is a commodity to make money—the dowry becomes a business transaction.
Has Malala Become a Puppet of the West?
Nico Hines
April 12, 2014
The full document is quoted in a new book by Avi Raz, The Bride and the Dowry, complete with the typing errors I then made.
My Father's Peace Proposal
Raja Shehadeh
November 9, 2012
The groom has to give the bride a dowry to make the contract valid, and that dowry is for her and her alone to use as she wishes.
Mohammad Was Not a Womanizer, and Other Common Misconceptions About Islam Debunked
Olga M. Davidson
September 13, 2012
Girls are seen as a burden, as the family must pay a dowry to the men they eventually marry.
Models vs. Militants: Nisha Pahuja’s Film Shows Two Worlds of Indian Women
Abigail Pesta
May 5, 2012

Historical Examples of dowry

Accept them for a dowry; and allow me to claim one privilege in return.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
The dowry left to me by my father was ample enough for the dowry of a nun.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
The bridegroom is nevertheless obliged to pay the dowry demanded.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
To the husband, the wife tenders no dowry; but the husband, to the wife.
Tacitus on Germany
Tacitus
In 1836 he married Angele Sicardot, who brought him a dowry of ten thousand francs.
A Zola Dictionary
J. G. Patterson

British Dictionary definitions for dowry

dowry

noun plural -ries

the money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage

(esp formerly) a gift made by a man to his bride or her parents

Christianity a sum of money required on entering certain orders of nuns

a natural talent or gift

obsolete a widow's dower

Word Origin for dowry

C14: from Anglo-French douarie, from Medieval Latin dōtārium; see dower

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dowry

early 14c., from Anglo-French dowarie, Old French doaire (late 13c.) "dower, dowry, gift," from Medieval Latin dotarium, from Latin dotare "to endow, portion," from dos (genitive dotis) "marriage portion," from PIE *do-ti (cf. Sanskrit dadati, Greek didonai, Old Church Slavonic dati, Lithuanian duoti, Armenian tam, all meaning "to give"), from root *do- "to give." Related to Latin donum "a giving, gift;" dare "to give" (see date (n.1)).

dowry in Culture

dowry

Money, property, or material goods that a bride's family gives to the bridegroom or his family at the time of the wedding. In many cultures, the dowry not only helps to cement the relationship between the bride's and groom's families but also serves to reinforce traditional family roles and gender roles.