dowry
[ dou-ree ]
/ ˈdaʊ ri /
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.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
right, custom, culture, legacy, ancestry, tradition, endowment, skill, talent, gift, outlook, precedence, rank, sphere, standing, prosperity, footing, state, station, lot
Nearby words
- downwind,
- downy,
- downy mildew,
- downy woodpecker,
- downzone,
- dowsabel,
- dowse,
- dowser,
- dowsing rod,
- dowson
Also dowery.
Origin of dowry
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for dowry
dowry
/ (ˈdaʊərɪ) /
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
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)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.