# endow

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɪnˈdaʊ/ · frequency rank #57,372

## 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.
2. To enrich or furnish with some faculty or quality.
3. To naturally furnish (with something).
4. 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”).

## 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).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/endow