Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Dowry |
DowryNoun1. Money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "dowry" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1200. (references) |
Etymology: Dowry \Dow"ry\, noun; plural Dowries. [Contr. from dowery; compare to late Latin dotarium. See Dower.]. (Websters 1913) |
| Domain | Definition |
Bible | Dowry (mohar; i.e., price paid for a wife, Gen. 34:12; Ex. 22:17; 1 Sam. 18:25), a nuptial present; some gift, as a sum of money, which the bridegroom offers to the father of his bride as a satisfaction before he can receive her. Jacob had no dowry to give for his wife, but he gave his services (Gen. 29:18; 30:20; 34:12). Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary. |
Dream Interpretation | To dream that you fail to receive a dowry, signifies penury and a cold world to depend on for a living. If you receive it, your expectations for the day will be fulfilled. The opposite may be expected if the dream is superinduced by the previous action of the waking mind. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Law | A special form of endowment for daughters, which comprises the furnishings of a household or the cash amount necessary to purchase them. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A dowry is an archaic marriage custom where the bride or her family is required to give a gift of money or valuable goods to the groom or his family. In some areas where this was practiced, the size of the necessary dowry was directly proportional to the groom's social standing, thus making it virtually impossible for lower class women to marry into upper class families. In some cases where a woman's family was too poor to afford any dowry whatsoever, she either simply was forbidden from ever marrying, or at most became a concubine to a richer man who could afford to support a large household.
The tradition of giving dowries is perhaps most well known in the country of India where it is still largely carried out despite being prohibited by law as of 1961.
The converse of a dowry is a bride price.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Dowry."
Synonyms: DowrySynonyms: dower (n), dowery (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Property | Dower, dowry, jointure, appanage, inheritance, heritage, patrimony, alimony; legacy; (gift); Falcidian law, paternal estate, thirds. |
Wealth | Provision, livelihood, maintenance; alimony, dowry; means, resources, substance; property; command of money. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Dowry |
| English words defined with "dowry": dowered, dowerless, Dowries ♦ Extradotal ♦ Tocher. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "dowry": Queenhithe. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "dowry": Dotal, Dotation ♦ morganatic. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | A poor girl without a dowry can't be so paticular. (Fiddler on the Roof; writing credit: Sholom Aleichem; Joseph Stein) | |
Lyrics | And death all round will be your dowry (The Prophet's Song; performing artist: Queen; writing credit: Brian May) | |
Movie/TV Titles | The Dowry (1969) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Aeschylus | She [Helen] brought to Ilium her dowry, destruction. |
Ovid | Quarrels are the dowry which married folk bring one another. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Children | India | Although abetting or taking dowry theoretically is illegal under the Dowry Prohibition Act, it still is practiced widely. (references) |
India | Women's rights groups point out that the burden of providing girls with an adequate dowry is one factor that makes daughters less desirable. (references) | |
Human Rights | Equatorial Guinea | Authorities often detain both men and women for failure to repay a dowry following the dissolution of a marriage; however, only divorced women or their responsible male relatives are imprisoned for not repaying a dowry. (references) |
Women | India | Dowry disputes also are a serious problem. (references) |
Bhutan | Dowry is not customary, even among ethnic Nepalese Hindus. (references) | |
Nepal | The dowry tradition is strong, with greater prevalence in the Terai region. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Dowry" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Dowry" is used about 148 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 148 | 25,903 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes names derived from the word "dowry". | |||
| Name | Gender | Language | Meaning |
| Zabad | N/A | Biblical | Dowry |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references.
| |||
Expressions using "dowry": dowry assurance ♦ give a dowry to ♦ provide with a dowry ♦ without a dowry. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
dowry | 61 |
death dowry | 8 |
dowry system | 4 |
african dowry tribal word | 3 |
death dowry in india | 3 |
dowry in india | 3 |
dowry india | 3 |
dowry wedding | 3 |
dowry indian | 2 |
dowry murder | 2 |
dowry in india system | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "dowry"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | dhunti (aptitude, dower, flair, gift, talent), talent (dower, gift, talent), prikë (Dot, dower, portion, Tocher), falë (owing to). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | مهر الزواج, مهر (seal, stamp), مال الزواج, قنقنة, صداق (portion), دوطة (portion). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | талант (ability, accomplishment, capability, endowment, gift, talent), зестра (dower, portion), дарба (ability, appanage, aptitude, competence, competency, endowment, faculty, flair, genius, gift). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 陪嫁 (Dowries). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | vìno (portion). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | bruidsschat. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Esperanto | doto. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Faeroese | heimanfylgja, útgerð. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | مهریه , جهیزیه , جهیز, جهاز (Apparatus, Appurtenance, Ship, System). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | myötäjäiset (marriage portion). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | dot (dower), don (Don, donation, donative). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frisian | breidsjefte. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | mitgift (marriage portion, marriage-portion, portion), aussteuer (trousseau). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | προίκα (dower, trousseau). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | מו"ר, "ו י" (marriage portion). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | hozomány (dot, dower, settlement, Tocher). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | dote (accomplishment, endowment, gift). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 持参金 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | じさ"き". (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 결혼지참금 (Dowries). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | toghyr (dower, endowment, marriage portion, marriage settlement, tocher). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Norwegian | medgift. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | owryday dote (dot, dower, endow, endowment, jointure, marriage portion, part). (various references) dar (and, bestowal, bounty, but, consequently, endowment, genius, gift, grant, hence, however, pledge, present, sop, still, yet), zestre (Dot, dower, portion, settlement, trousseau), talent (ability, accomplishments, aptitude, capability, dower, endowment, facility, faculty, felicity, genius, gift, ingenuity, knack, part, skill, talent, turn, twist). (various references) приданое (dower, layette, tocher, trousseau, trousseaus, trousseaux). (various references) tochar , tochradh. (various references) miraz (tocher). (various references) dote (calling, capably, charisma, drollery, endowment, liking, marriage portion, portion, settlement, settling, talent). (various references) hemgift (dower, portion), gåva (accomplishment, aptitude, bounty, disposition, donation, dower, gift, gratuity, hand out, present, talent, token). (various references) drahoma (dower), yetenek (ability, accomplishment, accomplishments, aptitude, aptness, artistry, bent, caliber, calibre, capability, capacity, competence, competency, disposition, dower, efficiency, facility, faculty, fitness, flair, gift, hand, instinct, parts, power, prerogative, quality, skill, talent, vocation), allah vergisi (faculty, gift, innate, innate talent), çeyiz (bottom drawer, dower, marriage portion, portion, trousseau). (various references) юaя-sep (costly, valuable). (various references) талант (ability, skill, talent), придане (dower, portion, trousseau). (various references) thiên tư, của h"i môn t i năng. (various references) gwaddol (endowment), agweddi (marriage gift). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | dote, dotem, dotis. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Genesis Chapter 34, Verse 12 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Plhqunate thn fernhn sfodra kai dwsw kaqoti an eiphte moi kai dwsete moi thn paida tauthn eiV gunaika |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Augete dotem munera postulate libens tribuam quod petieritis tantum date mihi puellam hanc uxorem |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Eche ye dower, and aske ye yiftis, gladly Y shal yyue that ye asken; oonly yyf ye to me this damesele to wijf. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Axe frely of me both the dowry and gyftes and I will geue acordynge as ye saye vnto me and geue me the damsell to wyfe. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Ask me never so much dower and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say to me: but give me the damsel for a wife. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | However great you make the bride-price and payment, I will give it; only let me have the girl for my wife. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Genesis Chapter 34, Verse 12 |
| Cebuano | Dugangi ninyo pagpangayo ug daghang bugay ug mga gasa, ug ako magahatag sumala sa inyong igabungat kanako; apan ihatag ninyo kanako ang dalaga nga akong pangasaw-onon. |
| Croatian | Tražite od mene koliko hoæete: sve što god zapitate dat æu, samo mi dajte djevojku za ženu." |
| Danish | forlang så høj en Brudesum og Gave, I vil; jeg giver, hvad I kræver, når I blot vil give mig Pigen til Hustru!" |
| Dutch | Vergroot zeer over mij den bruidschat en het geschenk; en ik zal geven, gelijk als gij tot mij zult zeggen; geef mij slechts de jonge dochter tot een vrouw. |
| Finnish | Vaatikaa minulta kuinka suuri morsiamen hinta ja kuinka suuret antimet tahansa: minä annan, mitä te minulta vaaditte. Antakaa minulle vain se tyttö vaimoksi." |
| French | Exigez de moi une forte dot et beaucoup de présents, et je donnerai ce que vous me direz; mais accordez-moi pour femme la jeune fille. |
| German | Fordert nur getrost von mir Morgengabe und Geschenk, ich will's geben, wie ihr heischt; gebt mir nur die Dirne zum Weibe. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Katakanlah hadiah apa yang kalian inginkan, dan tentukanlah emas kawinnya. Saya akan memberikan apa yang kalian minta, asalkan kalian mengizinkan saya mengawini gadis itu." |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Pintalah dari pada hamba beberapa banyak isi kawin dan hadiahpun, maka hamba akan memberikan dia seperti yang tuan-tuan kehendaki, tetapi berikanlah kepada hamba juga anak dara itu akan bini hamba. |
| Maori | Ahakoa pehea te nui o te tapakuha me te hakari e meatia mai e koutou ki ahau, ka hoatu e ahau ta koutou e ki mai ai ki ahau: otira homai te kotiro hei wahine maku. |
| Norwegian | Krev så meget I vil av mig i morgengave og andre gaver! Jeg skal gi det I vil ha; la mig bare få piken til hustru! |
| Portuguese | exigi de mim o que quiserdes em dote e presentes, e darei o que me pedirdes; somente dai-me a donzela por mulher. |
| Rumanian | Cereyi-mi o zestre ckt de mare wi ckt de multe daruri, wi voi da tot ce-mi veyi zice; numai dayi-mi fata de nevastq.`` |
| Russian | ОБЪОБЮШФЕ УБНПЕ 'ПМШЫПЕ ЧЕОП Й "БТЩ; С "БН, ЮФП ОЙ УЛБЦЕФЕ НОЕ, ФПМШЛП ПФ"БКФЕ НОЕ "ЕЧЙ"Х Ч ЦЕОХ. |
| Spanish | Aumentad a cuenta mía el precio matrimonial y muchos regalos. Yo os daré cuánto me pidáis, pero dadme la joven por mujer. |
| Swedish | Begären av mig huru stor brudgåva och skänk som helst; jag vill giva vad I fordren av mig; given mig allenast flickan till hustru." |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Misspellings | |
"Dowry" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: bowry, dawry, Dawtry, dewry, doiry, doory, Dorey, dori, dorj, dorky, dorry, dorwi, doury, dowayo, dowre, dowrey, dowrs, dowsy, drowr, drowy, dwor, lowryi, Mowry, Towry. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: rowdy, wordy. | |
| Words within the letters "d-o-r-w-y" | |
-1 letter: dory, word. | |
-2 letters: dor, dow, dry, rod, row, wry, yod, yow. | |
-3 letters: do, od, or, ow, oy, wo, yo. | |
| Words containing the letters "d-o-r-w-y" | |
+1 letter: byword, crowdy, dowery, drowsy. | |
+2 letters: bywords, daywork, doorway, keyword, powdery, roadway, rowdily, wordily, workday, worldly. | |
+3 letters: bodywork, cowardly, dayworks, doorways, drowsily, keywords, roadways, rowdyish, rowdyism, towardly, wordplay, workaday, workdays, yardwork. | |
+4 letters: bodyworks, dayflower, earlywood, forwardly, frowardly, outwardly, rowdyisms, swordplay, unworldly, wordplays, worriedly, yardworks. | |
+5 letters: dayflowers, donkeywork, downwardly, earlywoods, hydropower, roadworthy, swordplays, untowardly, wondrously, wordlessly. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)44 6F 77 72 79 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-.. --- .--. .-. -.--. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000100 01101111 01110111 01110010 01111001 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)D o w r y |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0044 006F 0077 0072 0079 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)3881898491 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Familiar 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Usage Frequency | 9. Names: Derived from 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Translations: Ancient 14. Bible Trace 15. Derivations 16. Anagrams | 17. Orthography 18. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
