dowry

/ˈdaʊəɹi/

//ˈdaʊəɹi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dowry" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dowry” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #24,430. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#24,430
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dowry · dowry · English

dowry · rank #24,430 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #24,430
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH Doppler

Nearest frequency peer: Doppler (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “dowry”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “dowry” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

dowry vs dry
60% similar
dowry vs drury
60% similar
dowry vs drowsy
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for dowry
PropertyValue
Headworddowry
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdaʊəɹi/
Letters5
Frequency rank#24,430
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “dowry”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).dowrylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Doppler” (#24,429), “duality” (#24,432), “Dinah” (#24,427). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “dowry” is #24,430. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around dowry (IPA /ˈdaʊəɹi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #24,430 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for dowry, with forms such as "ddowry", "dorwy", and "dowrry". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "dry", "drury", "drowsy", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dowarye, dowerie, from Anglo-Norman dowarie, douarie, from Old French douaire, from Medieval Latin dōtārium, from Latin dōs. Doublet of dower. The correct English form is dowry, spelled D-O-W-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage.
  2. 2
    Payment by the groom or his family to the bride's family.
  3. 3
    Inheritance from a deceased husband to his widow.
  4. 4
    A natural gift or talent.
  5. 5
    A large amount.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how dowry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The family of the groom makes sure the new couple has a house to live in and land to cultivate; they will also pay for the dowry (crucial, for without dowry the new father has no rights over his children; Trouwborst 1962: 136ff.)
  2. But no palace had so fair a ceiling; for from the wooden beams were suspended a whole dowry of copper vessels—pails, cauldrons, water pots, of every colour from lustrous black to the palest pink.

Etymology

From Middle English dowarye, dowerie, from Anglo-Norman dowarie, douarie, from Old French douaire, from Medieval Latin dōtārium, from Latin dōs. Doublet of dower.

This word in other languages

dote(Español)dot(Français)Aussteuer(Deutsch)dote(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddowry
  • dorwy
  • dowrry
  • dowryy
  • dowwry
  • dowyr
  • dwory
  • odwry

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dowry - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddowry1dorwy2dowrry1dowryy1dowwry1dowyr2dwory2odwry2
Edit distance from "dowry"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dowry"?
"dowry" is spelled D-O-W-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdaʊəɹi/.
What does "dowry" mean?
As a noun, "dowry" means: Payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage.
What words are commonly confused with "dowry"?
"dowry" is commonly confused with "dry", "drury", "drowsy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dowry"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dowry" is /ˈdaʊəɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dowry"?
From Middle English dowarye, dowerie, from Anglo-Norman dowarie, douarie, from Old French douaire, from Medieval Latin dōtārium, from Latin dōs. Doublet of dower. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dowry", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Dinah#24,427dazed#24,421clams#24,408golds#24,460

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Fatima8 variantsCoates8 variantsGoldie8 variantsgrids8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list