Dow"er (?), n. [F. douaire, LL. dotarium, from L. dotare to endow, portion, fr. dos dower; akin to Gr. gift, and to L. dare to give. See 1st Date, and cf. Dot dowry, Dotation.]
1.
That with which one is gifted or endowed; endowment; gift.
How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower!
Sir J. Davies.
Man in his primeval dower arrayed.
Wordsworth.
2.
The property with which a woman is endowed
; especially: (a)
That which a woman brings to a husband in marriage; dowry.
[Obs.]
His wife brought in dower Cilicia's crown.
Dryden.
(b) Law
That portion of the real estate of a man which his widow enjoys during her life, or to which a woman is entitled after the death of her husband
.
Blackstone.
⇒ Dower, in modern use, is and should be distinguished from dowry. The former is a provision for a widow on her husband's death; the latter is a bride's portion on her marriage.
Abbott.
Assignment of dower. See under Assignment.
© Webster 1913.