| 释义 |
▪ 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).
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. lxviii. (1495) 824 Conyes..make them dowers and dennes vnder erthe. c1420Pallad. on Husb. iv. 654 Outher in gourdis grene Make euery fige a douer in to crepe. c1440Promp. Parv. 128/2 Dower yn the erthe (dovwere, H. douwir, P.), cuniculus. c1490Ibid. 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.
[1292Britton 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.] 1439E.E. Wills (1882) 115 Her part and dowyer of my godes. 1470–85Malory Arthur v. xii, The kyng..assigned certayn rentes for the dower of the duchesse & for her children. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cclxix. 399 He was before the castell of Perides, where as the Lady of Dowaire was. 1528Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 267 To Margarete, my wif, hir hoole dore of all my landes. a1626Bacon 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. 1767Blackstone 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. 1879Hesba 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.
c1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 751 Thilke dowere that ye broghten me Taak it agayn. 1483Caxton Cato G iv b, Thou oughtest not to take a wyf ne to coueyte hyr for hyr dowayr. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII (an. 19) (R.) He offereth to take to wife, Elianor Quene Dowager of Portyngall, without any dower, yea, in hir kirtell. 1601Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 328 Choose thou thy husband, and Ile pay thy dower. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xiii, She..offered to give Emily a dower. 1869Lecky 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.
1382Wyclif 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. 1635–56Cowley Davideis iii. 938 He..A double Dowre, two hundred Foreskins brought. 1791Cowper 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.
c1375Myrour of Lewed Men (MS. Egerton 927) In thes four dowers sal thi body be sa parfit. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) v. iii. 94 Subtilite Clerte Inpassibilite and Agylyte ben cleped the dowerys of the body. 1592Davies Immort. Soul Ded. iii, The richest Mind, both by Art's Purchase, and by Nature's Dower. 1807Wordsw. White Doe Rylstone vii. 282 A mortal Song we sing, by dower Encouraged of celestial power. 1871J. 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.
1881C. C. Harrison Woman's Handiwork iii. 142 Carved *dower-chests from Spain and Italy. 1921Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 19 Oct. 17/1 Carved Oak Dower Chest. 1922Daily Tel. 12 June 20/1 Antique walnut cabinets, dower chest. 1925N. Venner Imperfect Impostor iv, There was an old oak dower chest, curiously carved. 1927Daily Tel. 14 June 3/1 A fine old carved dower chest of the Henry VIII. period.
1862H. Marryat Year in Sweden II. 409 A *dower-house built for Countess Christina. 1880Mrs. Oliphant He that will not xxxviii, There was a dower-house..to which perhaps it would be well for her to retire.
1769Washington Diary 16 May (1925) I. 325 Rid over my *dower Land in York. 1862H. 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.
1605Shakes. Lear i. i. 207 Will you..Dow'rd with our curse..Take her? 1847Lytton Lucretia 43 When she marries, I will dower her. 1883S. C. Hall Retrospect II. 266 Amply dowered..her suitors were doubtless many.
b. To give as a dower or dowry.
1814Byron 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.
1793Southey Triumph Woman 46 Three youths whom Nature dower'd with every grace. 1830Tennyson Poet i, The poet..Dower'd with the hate of hate, the scorn of scorn. 1884Daily News 7 Feb. 3/2 The volcanic peaks..were dowered with soft reds and deep purples.
3. intr. To take or receive dower.
1848Wharton 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.
a1756West Phineus (Seager) I led Your dower'd sister to my spousal bed. 1822Scott Nigel iii, Taking a pretty, well-dowered English lady. |