Webster's English Dictionary

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dowry

dow.ry \'dau.(*)r-e-\ n [ME dowarie, fr. AF, irreg. fr. ML dotarium, fr. L 
   dot-, d]os gift, marriage portion; akin to L dare to give archaic  1: DOWER 
    2a: the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in 
   marri age 2b: a sum of money required of postulants by cloistered nuns  3: 
   a gift of money or property by a man to or for his bride  4: a natural gift