endow

[ en-dou ]

/ ɛnˈdaʊ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR endow ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to provide with a permanent fund or source of income: to endow a college.

to furnish, as with some talent, faculty, or quality; equip: Nature has endowed her with great ability.

Obsolete. to provide with a dower.

verb (used without object)

(of a life-insurance policy) to become payable; yield its conditions.

Nearby words

endotracheal tube, endotrachelitis, endotrophic, endotrophic mycorrhiza, endovasculitis, endow, endowment, endowment assurance, endowment insurance, endowment mortgage, endozoic

Origin of endow

1350–1400; Middle English endowen < Old French endouer, equivalent to en- en-¹ + douer < Latin dōtāre to dower, equivalent to dōt- (stem of dōs) dowry + -āre infinitive suffix

SYNONYMS FOR endow

2 invest, clothe, endue.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR endow ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

en·dow·er, nounre·en·dow, verb (used with object)su·per·en·dow, verb (used with object)un·en·dowed, adjective

un·en·dow·ing, adjectivewell-en·dowed, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for endow

So we now endow somewhat Islamicism, which we would condemn with the greatest contempt if it were a fundamentalist Christianity.
Sunday Q&A: Josef Joffe on the Myth of American Decline|Michael Moynihan|November 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To expect him to control events would be to endow him with a power that no president has possessed.
How Obama Got Fierce on Foreign Policy: James Mann’s 'The Obamians'|Jacob Heilbrunn|June 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Just this year, Betsy and Dick Devos, trustees from Michigan, pledged $22 million to endow an art management program.
Washington's Richest Power Players|Sandra McElwaine|May 19, 2010|DAILY BEAST
To endow two rained-on and shabby gentlemen with pomp and circumstance!
The Tin Soldier|Temple Bailey

As we go through this existence we discover secrets with which we endow the liberal and the mechanical arts.
Catherine de' Medici|Honore de Balzac
They can endow hospitals, colleges, normal schools, found libraries and establish lectures for the welfare of all.
Speeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 1 (of 3)|Theodore Parker
The common tradition gives Judas an extraordinary domestic history, but does not endow him with a sister as perfidious as himself.
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Volume I of 5)|Various
Endow us with high hopes and determined wills, that we may be faithful.
The Optimist's Good Morning|Florence Hobart Perin

British Dictionary definitions for endow

endow

/ (ɪnˈdaʊ) /

verb (tr)

to provide with or bequeath a source of permanent income

(usually foll by with) to provide (with qualities, characteristics, etc)

obsolete to provide with a dower

Derived Formsendower, noun

Word Origin for endow

C14: from Old French endouer, from en- 1 + douer, from Latin dōtāre, from dōs dowry

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 endow

endow

late 14c., indowen "provide an income for," from Anglo-French endover, from en- "in" + Old French douer "endow," from Latin dotare "bestow" (see dowry). Related: Endowed; endowing.

endow

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Nearby words

Origin of endow

Examples from the Web for endow

British Dictionary definitions for endow

endow

verb (tr)

Word Origin for endow

Word Origin and History for endow

endow