dowry - Definitions from Dictionary.com

8 results for: dowry

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

dow·ry

Audio Help [dou-ree] Pronunciation Key

–noun, plural -ries.

1.	Also, dower. the money, goods, or estate that a wife brings to her husband at marriage.

2.	Archaic. a widow's dower.

3.	a natural gift, endowment, talent, etc.

Also, dowery.

[Origin: 1250–1300; ME dowerie < AF douarie < ML dōtārium. See dot², -ary

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
dowry

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

dow·er Audio Help (dou'ər) Pronunciation Key
n.

The part or interest of a deceased man's real estate allotted by law to his widow for her lifetime. Also called dowry.
See dowry.
A natural endowment or gift; a dowry.

tr.v. dow·ered, dow·er·ing, dow·ers
To give a dower to; endow.

[Middle English douere, from Old French douaire, from Medieval Latin dōtārium, dōārium, from Latin dōs, dōt-, dowry; see dō- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

dow·ry Audio Help (dou'rē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. dow·ries

Money or property brought by a bride to her husband at marriage. Also called dower.
A sum of money required of a postulant at a convent.
A natural endowment or gift; a talent.
Archaic See dower.

[Middle English douerie, from Anglo-Norman douarie, from Medieval Latin dōtārium, dōārium, dōāria, dower; see dower.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
dowry

c.1330, from Anglo-Fr. dowarie, from O.Fr. douaire, from M.L. dotarium, from L. dos (gen. dotis) "marriage portion," from PIE *do-ti, (cf. Skt. dadati, Gk. didonai, O.C.S. dati, Lith. duoti, Arm. tam, all meaning "to give"), from base *do- "to give." Related to L. donum "a giving, gift;" dare "to give" (see date (1)).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

dowry
noun
money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
dowry [ˈdauəri] noun — plural ˈdowries

money and property brought by a woman to her husband when they marry

Arabic:	مَهْر، بائِنَه
Chinese (Simplified):	嫁妆
Chinese (Traditional):	嫁妝
Czech:	věno
Danish:	medgift
Dutch:	bruidsschat
Estonian:	kaasavara
Finnish:	myötäjäiset
French:	dot
German:	die Mitgift
Greek:	προίκα
Hungarian:	hozomány
Icelandic:	heimanmundur
Indonesian:	emas kawin
Italian:	dote

Japanese:	持参金
Latvian:	(līgavas) pūrs
Lithuanian:	kraitis
Norwegian:	medgift
Polish:	posag
Portuguese (Brazil):	dote
Portuguese (Portugal):	dote
Romanian:	zestre
Russian:	приданое
Slovak:	veno
Slovenian:	dota
Spanish:	dote
Swedish:	hemgift
Turkish:	drahoma, çeyiz

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

[Chapter:] Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Dowry

Dow"ry\, n.; pl. Dowries. [Contr. from dowery; cf. LL. dotarium. See Dower.]

1. A gift; endowment. [Obs.] --Spenser.

2. The money, goods, or estate, which a woman brings to her husband in marriage; a bride's portion on her marriage. See Note under Dower. --Shak. Dryden.

3. A gift or presents for the bride, on espousal. See Dower.

Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give . . .; but give me the damsel to wife. --Gen. xxxiv. 12.

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