dowry
/ˈdaʊ(ə)ri
/noun (plural dowries)
An amount of property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage: Elizabeth’s dowry was to be £45,000 in diamonds...
- The bride brings a dowry to the marriage usually consisting of household goods and her own clothing.
- Middle-class families needed capital and credit, and marriage had considerable importance in bringing in funds through dowries and marriage settlements, and giving access to credit networks.
- In the past, marriages were arranged and women brought a dowry to the marriage.
Synonyms
marriage settlement, (marriage) portion;
Scottish & Northern English tocher
archaic dot
Origin
Middle English (denoting a widow's life interest in her husband's estate): from Anglo-Norman French dowarie, from medieval Latin dotarium (see dower).
Rhymes
- fire hunter
- fire hunting
- fire hydrant
- fire insurance
- fire in the (or one's) belly
- fire iron
- fire irons
- Fire Island
- fire-junk
- fire kindling
- fire king
- fire ladder
- fire lance
- fireless
- fireless cooker
- firelight
- firelighter
- fire-lighting
- fire lily
- fire line
- firelit
- firelock
- fire loss
- fire main
- fire maker