Dow'er, n.
n. [Fr. douaire, Pr. doari, L. Lat. dotarium, dotarium, from Lat. dotare, to endow, to portion. See DOWABLE.] [Written also dowry.]
Sense 1. That with which one is gifted or endowed; endowment; gift.
How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower! Davies.
Man in his primeval dower arrayed. Wordsworth.
Sense 2. The property with which a woman is endowed; especially, (a.) That which a woman brings to a husband in marriage.
His wife brought in dower Cilicia's crown. Dryden.
(b.) 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.