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Endow
Definitions
- 1 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. transitive
"His [John, King of England's] Acts and Orders for the VVeale-publike vvere beyond moſt: hee being either the firſt, or the chiefeſt, vvho appointed thoſe noble Formes of Ciuill gouernement in London, and moſt Cities, and Incorporate Tovvnes of England, endovving them alſo vvith their greateſt Franchiſes; […]"
- 2 furnish with an endowment wordnet
- 3 To enrich or furnish with some faculty or quality. transitive
"Wherby we bith lerned þat it shalnot only be goode to owre prince, but also to vs selff, that he be well indowed; ffor ellis the patriarke wolde not haue made such a trety."
- 4 give qualities or abilities to wordnet
- 5 To naturally furnish (with something). transitive
"She was endowed with a beautiful voice."
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- 6 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”). archaic, obsolete, transitive
"And if a man entice a maide that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he ſhall ſurely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuſe to giue her vnto him, he ſhall pay money according to the dowrie of virgins."
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).
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