What is "dower"

Dower \Dow"er\, n. [F. douaire, LL. dotarium, from L. dotare to endow, portion, fr. dos dower; akin to Gr. ? gift, and to L. dare to give. See 1st Date, and cf. Dot dowry, Dotation.]

1. That with which one is gifted or endowed; endowment; gift.

   How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower!
   --Sir J. Davies.

   Man in his primeval dower arrayed.
   --Wordsworth.

2. The property with which a woman is endowed; especially:

   1. That which a woman brings to a husband in marriage; dowry. [Obs.]

      His wife brought in dower Cilicia's crown.
      --Dryden.

   2. (Law) That portion of the real estate of a man which his widow enjoys during her life, or to which a woman is entitled after the death of her husband.
      --Blackstone.

      Note: Dower, in modern use, is and should be distinguished from dowry. The former is a provision for a widow on her husband's death; the latter is a bride's portion on her marriage.
      --Abbott.

      Assignment of dower. See under Assignment.

late 13c., from Old French doaire "dower, dowry, gift" (see dowry).

n. 1 (context legal English) The part of or interest in a deceased husband's property provided to his widow, usually in the form of a life estate. 2 (context legal English) Property given by a groom directly to his bride at or before their wedding in order to legitimize the marriage. 3 (context obsolete English) That with which one is gifted or endowed; endowment; gift. vb. 1 To give a dower or dowry. 2 To endow.

1. n. money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage [syn: dowry, dowery]

2. a life estate to which a wife is entitled on the death of her husband

3. v. furnish with an endowment; "When she got married, she got dowered" [syn: endow]

Dower (, donatio propter nuptias, Byzantine: ὑπόβολον hypobolon; , , ) is a provision accorded by law, but traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support in the event that she should survive her husband (i.e., become a widow). It was settled on the bride by agreement at the time of the wedding, or provided by law. ("Settled" here refers to a gift into trust.)

The dower grew out of the Germanic practice of bride price ( Old English weotuma) which was given over to a bride's family well in advance for arranging the marriage, but during the early Middle Ages, was given directly to the wife instead. However, in popular parlance, the term may be used for a life interest in property settled by a husband on his wife at any time, not just at the wedding. The verb to dower is sometimes used.

In popular usage, the term dower may be confused with:

• A dowager is a widow (who may receive her dower). The term is especially used of a noble or royal widow who no longer occupies the position she held during the marriage. For example, Queen Elizabeth was technically the dowager queen after the death of George VI (though she was referred to by the more informal title " Queen Mother"), and Princess Lilian was the Dowager Duchess of Halland in heraldic parlance. Such a dowager will receive the income from her dower property. (The term " Empress Dowager", in Chinese history, has a different meaning.)
• Property brought to the marriage by the bride is called a dowry. But the word dower has been used since Chaucer ( The Clerk's Tale) in the sense of dowry, and is recognized as a definition of dower in the Oxford English Dictionary.
• Property made over to the bride's family at the time of the wedding is a bride price. This property does not pass to the bride herself.
• Mahr, a payment that a husband is required to make to his wife at the time of an Islamic marriage or, failing that, in the event of a divorce. Unlike mahr, dower is optional and was typically paid only after the husband's death. In Europe, dower was only possible with actual assignment of property; mahr in contrast can be a promise to transfer property.