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endow

[en-dou]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to provide with a permanent fund or source of income: to endow a college.
  2. to furnish, as with some talent, faculty, or quality; equip: Nature has endowed her with great ability.
  3. Obsolete. to provide with a dower.
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verb (used without object)
  1. (of a life-insurance policy) to become payable; yield its conditions.
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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
Related formsen·dow·er, nounre·en·dow, verb (used with object)su·per·en·dow, verb (used with object)un·en·dowed, adjectiveun·en·dow·ing, adjectivewell-en·dowed, adjective

Synonyms

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2. invest, clothe, endue.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for endow

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Youth is prone to endow its opinions with all the dignity of certain knowledge.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • What was lacking in his power that he could not endow them with life?

    His Masterpiece

    Emile Zola

  • Small beginnings of the fortune that was to found and endow asylums!

    Hidden Hand

    Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte Southworth

  • What he did was to endow the church with this admirable piece of head-gear.

    The Gypsies

    Charles G. Leland

  • But He will endow her with all His wealth, and raise her to sit with Him on a throne forever.

    The Wedding Ring

    T. De Witt Talmage

British Dictionary definitions for endow

endow

verb (tr)
  1. to provide with or bequeath a source of permanent income
  2. (usually foll by with) to provide (with qualities, characteristics, etc)
  3. obsolete to provide with a dower
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Derived Formsendower, noun

Word Origin

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

v.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper