dowry
Americannoun
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dowries
plural
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Also the money, goods, or estate that a wife brings to her husband at marriage.
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Archaic. a widow's dower.
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a natural gift, endowment, talent, etc.
noun
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the money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage
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(esp formerly) a gift made by a man to his bride or her parents
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Christianity a sum of money required on entering certain orders of nuns
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a natural talent or gift
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obsolete a widow's dower
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dowry
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English dowerie, from Anglo-French douarie, from Medieval Latin dōtārium. See dot 2, -ary
Explanation
In some cultures, the bride or her family pays a certain amount of money or property to the groom when a couple is married. This payment is called a dowry. Traditionally, a woman's family offered a dowry to potential husbands in order to make the match more attractive to the man and his family. The word dowry can actually mean "payment," but it can also refer to whatever property or savings a woman herself brings into a marriage. The Latin word dotare is the root of dowry, and it means "to endow or to portion out."
Vocabulary lists containing dowry
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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.
See Examples For:
Each bride receives a dowry of 100,000 naira, while a further 100,000 naira is provided as start-up capital to encourage small-scale entrepreneurship and help the couple achieve financial self-reliance after marriage.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
The islands were gifted to Scotland, along with Shetland, by King Christian I of Denmark and Norway in 1472 as security for a wedding dowry.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2025
Their helpline number, he says, receives about 86,000 calls every year and most cases are about matrimonial disputes that include false dowry cases and attempts at extortion.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2024
His offer — a $2,000 dowry, of which she could keep $1,300, plus about $500 a month — was too good to pass up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024
Because Renaissance women don’t work—the thought is unthinkable—the dowry helps support them in their new family.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
The men in Malaysia forfeit dowries and often send money to the brides’ parents.
From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2024
In other words, 'higher quality grooms' - well-educated and having better quality jobs - command higher dowries.
From BBC ● May 28, 2023
Officially, dowries are illegal now, and daughters are supposed to inherit alongside sons.
From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2022
“In the early Middle Ages rents, taxes and dowries were often paid in pepper,” and at its peak, it was as valuable as gold.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 11, 2022
The nunneries around Florence are filled with girls without dowries.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
