dowry

American  

[dou-ree] / ˈdaʊ ri /

Also dowery

noun

plural

dowries

1. Also 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.

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dowry British  

/ ˈdaʊərɪ /

noun

1. the money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage

2. (esp formerly) a gift made by a man to his bride or her parents

3. Christianity a sum of money required on entering certain orders of nuns

4. a natural talent or gift

5. obsolete a widow's dower

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dowry Cultural  

1. 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.

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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."

Example Sentences

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

This is no hostile takeover proposal — more like an actual proposal-proposal, with a really big dowry.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2025

"So many of my friends have had to leave school, or never been to school because someone paid a dowry to marry them, so their fathers had married them off," she says.

From BBC • Jan. 25, 2025

The man paid a dowry of about $850, and after the agent and the officiant took their cuts, she was left with about half that.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2024

Robert made Isaac the heir to all his property, including the lordship of the manor, and Hannah brought to the union as her dowry property worth £50 per year.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Related Words

• ancestry
• culture
• custom
• legacy
• right
• tradition