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What is "dowry"

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dowry
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
dowry
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ As a dowry to this marriage of heaven and hell, Lilith brings a magic mirror, a crown and a pearl.
▪ He gave her an estate at Alva as a dowry and probably accompanied it with a large sum of money.
▪ Her great-aunt had been burned to death over a dowry problem.
▪ I set aside a good dowry and other things for her.
▪ Since Octavia will save a substantial dowry, she will have a prosperous independence.
▪ There is no evidence of what lands, if any, she brought her husband as dowry.
▪ Where dreams and reality parted company was about marriage and the dowry.
▪ Without military strength to assist in their retention, dowries could prove but short-term gains.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dowry

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.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
dowry

early 14c., from Anglo-French dowarie, Old French doaire (late 13c.) "dower, dowry, gift," from Medieval Latin dotarium, from Latin dotare "to endow, portion," from dos (genitive dotis) "marriage portion," from PIE *do-ti (cognates: Sanskrit dadati, Greek didonai, Old Church Slavonic dati, Lithuanian duoti, Armenian tam, all meaning "to give"), from root *do- "to give" (see date (n.1)).

Wiktionary
dowry

n. Payment, as property or money, of a bride’s inheritance by her family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage.Gary Ferraro & Susan Andreatta, ''Cultural Anthropology'', 8th edn. (Belmont, Cal: Wadsworth, 2010), 223. vb. To bestow a dowry upon.

WordNet
dowry

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

Wikipedia
Dowry

A dowry is a transfer of parental property at the marriage of a daughter. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment by the groom or his family to the bride's parents, dowry is the wealth transferred from the bride's family to the groom or his family, ostensibly for the bride. Similarly, dower is the property settled on the bride herself, by the groom at the time of marriage, and which remains under her ownership and control.

Dowry is an ancient custom, and its existence may well predate records of it. Dowries continue to be expected, and demanded as a condition to accept a marriage proposal, in some parts of the world, mainly in parts of Asia, Northern Africa and the Balkans. In some parts of the world, disputes related to dowry sometimes result in acts of violence against women, including killings and acid attacks. The custom of dowry is most common in cultures that are strongly patrilineal and that expect women to reside with or near their husband's family ( patrilocality). Dowries have a long history in Europe, South Asia, Africa and other parts of the world.

Usage examples of "dowry".

THE DOWRY The marriage of Maitre Simon Lebrument with Mademoiselle Jeanne Cordier was a surprise to no one.

He thought it unnecessary to enlarge on the many arguments his mother had presented to him on the advantages of such a connection: that Lady Cytherea was of good family, well-connected, fashionable and had by common report an excellent dowry, and that now he was an earl, he owed it to the family to make a suitable match.

Out of Cameliard The daughter of Leodegrance shall bring A dowry that will disenthrall the State, Release it from dependence on the king, And guard it with invincible defence.

Did Figaro imagine it was because of his own pretty face that the Count had promised her so handsome a dowry?

Namely, that I surrender to him all the dowry intended for Omer of Kopt who is to marry my daughter.

From that moment all Limoges rang with this inexplicable affair, --inexplicable because no one knew the secret of it, namely, the immensity of the dowry.

Madame Millefleur decided this was not the ideal time to ask Woodbridge for the return of her dowry, paltry though it was, and played least in sight.

It is a powerful combination, becoming more so over time as the quality of Earthly civilisation slowly improved and as the new queens brought dowries of wider knowledge.

I calculated that as two hundred piastres were assigned to each as a dowry in case of marriage, the founder must have calculated on two marriages a year at least, and it seemed probable that these sums were made away with by some scoundrel.

Earl of Landale had been w attracted by the generous dowry Amelia had brot him--that his love for her had been only luke warm.

A quarter of this sum belongs to me, and my mother has promised my sister and myself to share her dowry between us.

Part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza, Portuguese queen of a merry monarch.

He was prepared to give his daughter a fine dowry in exchange for the happiness of knowing that she was soon to be a countess and the privileges she would obtain by this exalted position, not to mention the advantage he himself would gain by pleasing his sovereign with this match which the King appeared to favour: Cressida had hardly been consulted.

I gave him courage for his task by informing him that the girl had a dowry of four thousand ducats, but I added that his choice was to be made within a fortnight.

As for Count Algarotti, he was ready to be answerable for his god-son, that is to guarantee four thousand ducats to the wife, provided her dowry was worth that amount.