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

  1. a widow holding property or title derived from...

Ancestry of “dowager”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchdouagere—
2Middle Frenchdouagedower
3Middle Frenchdouerto endow
4LatindotoI endow
5Latindōsdowry
6Proto-Italicdōtis—
7Proto-Indo-Europeandéh₃tisgiving
8Proto-Indo-European-tisDerives abstract/action nouns from verb roots

Words derived from “dowager”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -tis →Every word from Proto-Indo-European déh₃tis →Every word from Proto-Italic dōtis →
dowager — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer