Assets reserved for a wife in case her husband dies
Not to be confused with Dowry or Dour (disambiguation).
For the surname, see Dower (surname).
Relationships (Outline)
Types
Genetic or adoptive
Kinship
Family
Parent
father
mother
Grandparent
Sibling
Cousin
By marriage
Spouse
Husband
Wife
Open marriage
Polygamy
Polyandry
Polygyny
Group marriage
Mixed-orientation
Partner(s)
Significant other
Boyfriend
Girlfriend
Cohabitation
Same-sex
Life partner
Friendship (romantic / cross-sex / zone)
Intimate and sexual
Casual
Monogamy
Non-monogamy
Mutual monogamy
Polyamory
Polyfidelity
Cicisbeo
Concubinage
Courtesan
Mistress
Activities
Bonding
Courtship
Dating
Engagement
Bachelor's Day
Mating
Meet market
Romance
Singles event
Wedding
Endings
Breakup
Legal/marital separation
Annulment
Divorce
Widowhood
Emotions and feelings
Affinity
Attachment
Intimacy
Jealousy
Limerence
Love
Platonic
Unconditional
Passion
Sexuality
Practices
Bride price
dower
dowry
service
Hypergamy
Infidelity
Sexual activity
Transgression
Repression
Abuse
Child
Dating
Domestic
Elderly
Narcissistic parent
Power and control
Stalking
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Dower agreement (Proikosymfono) before wedding at Kastoria, Greece, (1905). Source: Folkloric Museum of Kastoria
Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law.
The dower grew out of the practice of bride price, which was given over to a bride's family well in advance for arranging the marriage, but during the early Middle Ages, was given directly to the bride instead. However, in popular parlance, the term may be used for a life interest in property settled by a husband on his wife at any time, not just at the wedding. The verb to dower is sometimes used.
In popular usage, the term dower may be confused with:
A dowager is a widow (who may receive her dower). The term is especially used of a noble or royal widow who no longer occupies the position she held during the marriage. For example, Queen Elizabeth was technically the dowager queen after the death of George VI (though she was referred to by the more informal title "queen mother"), and Princess Lilian was the Dowager Duchess of Halland in heraldic parlance. Such a dowager will receive the income from her dower property. (The term "Empress Dowager", in Chinese history, has a different meaning.)
Property brought to the marriage by the bride is called a dowry. But the word dower has been used since Chaucer (The Clerk's Tale) in the sense of dowry, and is recognized as a definition of dower in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Property made over to the bride's family at the time of the wedding is a bride price. This property does not pass to the bride herself.
Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride...
Dower Lake is a lake in Todd County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Dower Lake was named for Sampson Dower, an English settler. List of lakes in Minnesota...
Colonel Alan Vincent Gandar Dower (28 March 1898 – 6 May 1980) was a British Army officer and politician. He was Conservative Member of Parliament (MP)...
A dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the previous owner of an English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish estate...
John Dower may refer to: John Gordon Dower (1900–1947), British civil servant and architect John W. Dower (born 1938), American historian This disambiguation...
John Wayne "Johnny" Dowers (born March 16, 1971, in DeQuincy, Louisiana) is an American actor, writer, and musician best known for his role as Detective...
A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property – a "dower" – derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, dowager usually...
Alan Dower Blumlein (/ˈblʊmlaɪn/; 29 June 1903 – 7 June 1942) was an English electronics engineer, notable for his many inventions in telecommunications...
University Press, 2004) p. 98 Dower 1999, p. 90. Dower 1999, p. 54. Kawai 1951, p. 27 Gordon 2003, p. 228 Dower 1999, p. 292. Dower 1999, p. 293. Bix 2001,...
contract signed upon marriage. "Dower" is the English translation that comes closest to Islamic meaning of mahr, as "dower" refers to the payment from the...
David William "Dai" Dower MBE (20 June 1933 – 1 August 2016), was a Welsh professional boxer who was a British, Empire and European Flyweight boxing champion...
Sam Dower Jr. (born November 6, 1990) is an American basketball player. Standing 6'9, he mainly plays the power forward position. He played college basketball...
Noah Dower Nilsson (born 25 April 2005) is a Swedish professional ice hockey left wing for Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He was selected...
was not purely economic." Lightbody 2004, p. 125. Weinberg 2005, p. 310 Dower 1986, p. 5, calls attention to the fact that "the Allied struggle against...
which he inherited the non-dower two-thirds of his father's estate. Upon George Washington's death on December 14, 1799, the dower share and slaves reverted...
Robert Reid Dower (4 June 1876 – 15 September 1964) was a Cape Colony cricketer who played in one Test match in 1899. He was also a lawyer. He and his...
Eric Leslie Gandar Dower (1894 – 4 October 1987) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician and businessman. He was educated at Brighton College, like his...
Jeremy Dower (born 1976) is an Australia-born musician and visual artist. He is best known for contributing the soundtrack to the pixel art tribute to...
John Gordon Dower (2 September 1900 – 3 October 1947) was an English civil servant and architect, who, as secretary of the Standing Committee on National...
Race & Power In the Pacific War is a 1986 history book written by John W. Dower and published by W. W. Norton & Company. The book covers the views of the...
marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment by the groom, or his family...
George Dower (11 July 1913 – 8 September 1974) was a former Australian rules footballer who played with Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL)...
was taken over by British European Airways in 1947. In 1929 Eric Gandar Dower bought a Blackburn Bluebird IV two-seat biplane in which he toured the country...
Liam Dower Nilsson (born 14 April 2003) is a Swedish professional ice hockey centre for IF Björklöven of the HockeyAllsvenskan (Allsv). He was selected...
Ministry of Health and Welfare) John W. Dower. War Without Mercy, 1986; ISBN 0-394-75172-8, p. 299 (According to Dower, Japanese war dead are "at least 2.5...
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