Where does “dowager” come from?
Dowager comes from Middle French douagere, from Middle French douage, from Middle French douer, from Latin dotare meaning to endow, from Latin dos meaning dowry or gift, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -tis.
dowager (English): a widow holding property or title derived from...
Definitions
- a widow holding property or title derived from...
Ancestry of “dowager”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | douagere | — |
| 2 | Middle French | douage | dower |
| 3 | Middle French | douer | to endow |
| 4 | Latin | doto | I endow |
| 5 | Latin | dōs | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | dōtis | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | déh₃tis | giving |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |
Words derived from “dowager”