▪ I. † dower, n.1 Obs.
Also dover, douwere, douwir, dwer, duer.
[Cf. OF. douvre, var. of douve ditch, dyke, ‘caverne que les habitants des bords de la Loire creusent dans le roc pour s'y loger.’]
A burrow (of rabbits, or the like).
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. lxviii. (1495) 824 Conyes..make them dowers and dennes vnder erthe. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 654 Outher in gourdis grene Make euery fige a douer in to crepe. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 128/2 Dower yn the erthe (dovwere, H. douwir, P.), cuniculus. c 1490 Ibid. 135/2 (MS. H), Dowere, or deen. |
▪ II. dower, n.2
(ˈdaʊə(r))
Forms: 4–6 dowaire, -ayr(e, dowere, 5 dowar, dowyer, 6 douare, dore, doore, 6–7 dowr(e, 4– dower.
[a. OF. douaire, doaire, douayre, ad. late L. dōtārium (Du Cange), f. L. dōt-em dower, dōtāre to endow.]
1. The portion of a deceased husband's estate which the law allows to his widow for her life. tenant in dower, the widow who thus holds land. † lady of dower, dowager lady.
| [1292 Britton i. vi. §5 Et voloms qe les femmes as felouns ne tiegnent nule terre en dowayre de nul tenement qe lour fust assignee par teus barouns.] 1439 E.E. Wills (1882) 115 Her part and dowyer of my godes. 1470–85 Malory Arthur v. xii, The kyng..assigned certayn rentes for the dower of the duchesse & for her children. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cclxix. 399 He was before the castell of Perides, where as the Lady of Dowaire was. 1528 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 267 To Margarete, my wif, hir hoole dore of all my landes. a 1626 Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law (1636) 58 Yet he was not such a tenant as to be seized of the land, so as his wife could have dower. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. vii. 116 The wife of the tenant in tail shall have her dower, or thirds, of the estate-tail. Ibid. 129 Tenant in dower. 1879 Hesba Stretton Through a Needle's Eye II. 40 Of course it will be burdened by a dower of {pstlg}500 a year to our mother. |
2. a. The money or property which the wife brings to the husband; = dowry 2.
| c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 751 Thilke dowere that ye broghten me Taak it agayn. 1483 Caxton Cato G iv b, Thou oughtest not to take a wyf ne to coueyte hyr for hyr dowayr. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII (an. 19) (R.) He offereth to take to wife, Elianor Quene Dowager of Portyngall, without any dower, yea, in hir kirtell. 1601 Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 328 Choose thou thy husband, and Ile pay thy dower. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xiii, She..offered to give Emily a dower. 1869 Lecky Europ. Mor. II. i. 83 Epaminondas was accustomed to ransom captives and collect dowers for poor girls. |
† b. transf. Money or value given by the man to his bride's relatives for her; = dowry 3. Obs.
| 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxxiv. 12 What thing ȝe ordeyne Y shal ȝyue; eche ȝe dower, and aske ȝe ȝiftis..oonly ȝyf ȝe to me this damesele to wijf. 1635–56 Cowley Davideis iii. 938 He..A double Dowre, two hundred Foreskins brought. 1791 Cowper Iliad ix. 180 From him I ask No dow'r, myself will such a dow'r bestow As never father on his child before. |
3. fig. Endowment; = dowry 4.
| c 1375 Myrour of Lewed Men (MS. Egerton 927) In thes four dowers sal thi body be sa parfit. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) v. iii. 94 Subtilite Clerte Inpassibilite and Agylyte ben cleped the dowerys of the body. 1592 Davies Immort. Soul Ded. iii, The richest Mind, both by Art's Purchase, and by Nature's Dower. 1807 Wordsw. White Doe Rylstone vii. 282 A mortal Song we sing, by dower Encouraged of celestial power. 1871 J. Miller Songs Italy (1878) 50 She was damned with the dower of beauty. |
4. Comb., as dower-chest, (a) = wedding-chest (wedding vbl. n. 4 b); (b) U.S. = hope chest (hope n.1 5); dower-house, -land.
| 1881 C. C. Harrison Woman's Handiwork iii. 142 Carved *dower-chests from Spain and Italy. 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 19 Oct. 17/1 Carved Oak Dower Chest. 1922 Daily Tel. 12 June 20/1 Antique walnut cabinets, dower chest. 1925 N. Venner Imperfect Impostor iv, There was an old oak dower chest, curiously carved. 1927 Daily Tel. 14 June 3/1 A fine old carved dower chest of the Henry VIII. period. |
| 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden II. 409 A *dower-house built for Countess Christina. 1880 Mrs. Oliphant He that will not xxxviii, There was a dower-house..to which perhaps it would be well for her to retire. |
| 1769 Washington Diary 16 May (1925) I. 325 Rid over my *dower Land in York. 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden I. 418 The dower-lands of the Princess Mary. |
▪ III. dower, v.
(ˈdaʊə(r))
[f. dower n.2]
1. trans. To give a dowry to; to endow.
| 1605 Shakes. Lear i. i. 207 Will you..Dow'rd with our curse..Take her? 1847 Lytton Lucretia 43 When she marries, I will dower her. 1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect II. 266 Amply dowered..her suitors were doubtless many. |
b. To give as a dower or dowry.
| 1814 Byron Let. to Moore 14 Oct., Part of them are settled on her; but whether that will be dowered now, I do not know. |
2. To endow or furnish with any ‘gift’, talent or power of mind or body.
| 1793 Southey Triumph Woman 46 Three youths whom Nature dower'd with every grace. 1830 Tennyson Poet i, The poet..Dower'd with the hate of hate, the scorn of scorn. 1884 Daily News 7 Feb. 3/2 The volcanic peaks..were dowered with soft reds and deep purples. |
3. intr. To take or receive dower.
| 1848 Wharton Law Lex. 196/2 The widow cannot dower out of estates of joint-tenants, because of the right of survivorship. Ibid., She may dower out of the same [land]. |
Hence ˈdowered ppl. a.
| a 1756 West Phineus (Seager) I led Your dower'd sister to my spousal bed. 1822 Scott Nigel iii, Taking a pretty, well-dowered English lady. |