Dower Meaning
/ˈdaʊ.əɹ/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe part of or interest in a deceased husband's property provided to his widow, usually in the form of a life estate.
nounProperty given by a groom to his bride or her family, at or before their wedding, in order to legitimize the marriage
Sentence Examples
Beauty carries its dower in its face.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Following her husband's death, the widow claimed her legal ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Beauty carries its ____ in its face.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English dower, dowere, from Old French doeire, from Medieval Latin dōtārium, from Latin dōs. Doublet of dowry.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[…] how features are abroad, / I am skill-less of; but, by my modesty,— / The jewel in my dower,—I would not wish / Any companion in the world but you […]"
— 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
"In New Bedford, fathers, they say, give whales for dowers to their daughters, and portion off their nieces with a few porpoises a-piece."
— 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 6:
"How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower!"
— c. 1600, John Davies, The Dignity of Man:
"Man in his primeval dower arrayed."
— 1793, William Wordsworth, Descriptive Sketches:
"For though God had bestowed on her the rare dower of a fine mind, He had not added to it the much more common, though infinitely less precious gift, of a quick intellect."
— 1856, Julia Kavanagh, chapter III, in Rachel Gray, London: Hurst and Blackett, page 49:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Following her husband's death, the widow claimed her legal ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Beauty carries its ____ in its face.