Dowerie

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The money, goods, or property that a woman brings with her when she marries
2. Assets or wealth given by a bride's family as part of a marriage settlement
3. Property or valuables that a woman transfers to her husband upon matrimony

Etymology: In medieval English law, a "dowerie" was the property or income a husband set aside for his widow to live on, and the word belonged to the same family as "dowry" and "dower." All three descend from Latin "dos," meaning a gift or marriage portion. The French "dot," still used for a bride's marriage settlement, comes from that same Latin root. The English forms split because the money moved in different directions. A "dowry" was the property the bride's family gave to the husband at marriage, while "dower" (and its Middle English variant "dowerie") was the provision the husband gave the wife, usually a life interest in a portion of his land that she would keep if he died first. Both reached English through Anglo-Norman and Old French forms of the Medieval Latin "dotarium," which was itself built on "dos." The "-erie" ending in the variant is the same suffix found in words like "bakery" and "pottery," indicating a set or collection of things.

Synonyms: dowry, dower, portion