Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Money or property brought by a bride to her husband at marriage. Also called dower.
- n. A sum of money required of a postulant at a convent.
- n. A natural endowment or gift; a talent.
- n. Archaic See dower.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The money, goods, or estate which a woman brings to her husband in marriage; the portion given with a wife; dower. See dower and dot.
- n. Any gift or reward in view of marriage.
- n. That with which one is endowed; gift; endowment; possession.
Wiktionary
- n. Property or payment given by a wife or her family to a husband at the time of marriage. (In some cultures, it is the husband who pays the dowry to the wife’s family.)
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A gift; endowment.
- n. 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.
- n. A gift or presents for the bride, on espousal. See Dower.
WordNet 3.0
- n. money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage
Etymologies
- Middle English douerie, from Anglo-Norman douarie, from Medieval Latin dōtārium, dōārium, dōāria, dower; see dower.
Examples
“Jenny shot back, realizing immediately that her being upset by visions conjured up by the word dowry had made that come out sounding as if she somehow considered it an insult to have it implied she was Egyptian.”
From This Beloved Hour
“The girl was too old, – every day of twenty years, – but three hundred rubles in dowry, with board after marriage, not to mention handsome presents to the bridegroom, easily offset the bride's age.”
“I think Miss Anville the loveliest of her sex; and, were I a marrying man, she, of all the women I have seen, I would fix upon for a wife: but I believe that not even the philosophy of your Lordship would recommend me to a connection of that sort, with a girl of obscure birth, whose only dowry is her beauty, and who is evidently in a state of dependency.”
Evelina: or, The History of a Young Lady's Entrance Into the World
“Professor Veena Oldenburg powerfully challenges even the usual portrayal of women being killed for dowry, which is linked with Hindu culture.”
The Huffington Post: Pankaj Jain, Ph.D.: Hinduism And Modernity
“With President Pratibha Patil giving assent to the newly revamped and amended CrPC (Amendment) Act 2008, and once the amended law comes into force, Section 498A (popularly known as dowry law) would be rendered a toothless penal provision as errant husbands and in-laws would no longer face immediate arrests shunting them to jail.”
Husbands Relax! New Criminal Procedure Renders IPC Sec 498A Toothless
“Such gifts, called a dowry, are common in the Near East today.”
“The women of our country have to face daily patriarchal violence and there are many so-called dowry deaths each year.”
“There is even one principle against dowry, which is extraordinary considering the attitudes in many of those communities about the proper role of women and certainly the importance of dowry.”
“Part of the dowry was the Port of Bombay in India …. ”
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
“Part of the dowry was the Port of Bombay in India .... ”
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘dowry’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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wry
Oh wry rie-awry
avowry, chowry, Newry, wryneck, wrying, wrybill, outlawry, inlawry, cowry, ewry, awry, wrythen and 10 more...
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