endow
Meanings
verb
- To give property to (someone) as a gift; specifically, to provide (a person or institution) with support in the form of a permanent fund of money or other benefits.
- To enrich or furnish with some faculty or quality.
- To naturally furnish (with something).
- To provide with a dower (“the portion that a widow receives from her deceased husband's property”) or a dowry (“property given to a bride”).
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Late Middle English endowen, endouen, enduen, indouen, indw (“to provide with assets, a livelihood, or privileges; to bestow, grant; (figuratively) to favour; to endow”), from Anglo-Norman endouer, from Old French en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + douer (“to endow”) (from Latin dōtāre (present active infinitive of dōtō (“to endow”)); modern French douer). Dōtō is derived from dōs (“dowry; endowment, gift”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to give”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).
Synonyms
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Derived words
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