marriage portion
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of marriage portion
First recorded in 1760–70
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.
Father, however, has reached the mental age where he cannot let them go, especially when a substantial marriage portion goes with each one.
From Time Magazine Archive
Your skill in wood carving is as good as a marriage portion.
From On the Heights A Novel by Auerbach, Berthold
Annele, he is certainly not covetous; he never asked a question about your marriage portion, never gave a hint on the subject; and he is far from stupid, believe me.
From Joseph in the Snow, and The Clockmaker In Three Volumes. Vol. II. by Auerbach, Berthold
Of course he deemed that this could never be; and she summoning from the lake three cows, two oxen, and a bull, as her marriage portion, was led homeward by him as his bride.
From Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales by Various
"All right, Margolius," he said; "you married my Birdie, and I suppose I got to stand for it, so you can take them four second mortgages and keep 'em as a marriage portion yourself."
From Object: matrimony by Glass, Montague
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.
