Endowment
/ɪnˈdaʊmənt/noun
A gift, fund, or permanent provision of money or property; also the act of providing it.
Did you know?Its core idea comes from the Old French verb *doter*, “to provide with a dowry,” so the word began in the world of marriage, inheritance, and legally transferred power.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*do-
“to give”
Latin
Latin
dare
“to give”
Late Latin
Latin
dotare
“to endow, provide a dowry”
Old French
Old French
doter
“to provide with a dowry; endow”
Middle English
English
endouen
“to furnish, provide, endow”
Modern English
English
endowment
“a gift, provision, or permanent fund”