Endowment

How to spell endowment

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce endowment

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does endowment mean?

1. nounA sum of money or property given to an institution to provide it with ongoing income.
2. nounA natural ability, talent, or quality that a person possesses.

Endowment in a sentence

• The university used the endowment to fund three new research posts.

• Her natural endowment for languages made the diplomatic posting easier.

• The hospital relies on a charitable endowment to cover its running costs.

• Physical strength was his greatest endowment as an athlete.

Where does endowment come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the Latin verb dotare, meaning 'to give a dowry or endow with a gift', which was built on dos (stem dot-), the word for a dowry, the property a bride brought to a marriage. Old French turned this into douer, meaning 'to provide for' or 'to give property to', and added the prefix en- to make endouer, 'to furnish or supply with'. English borrowed the verb 'endow' in the late 1300s, and by adding the native English noun suffix -ment created 'endowment', the act of giving or the thing given. The same dos root survives openly in the English words 'dowry' and 'dower', so the hidden 'dow' in the middle of endowment is a clue worth remembering. Over time the financial sense (a permanent fund granted to a college, hospital, or charity) grew alongside the figurative sense of a natural gift or talent that a person is 'endowed' with from birth.

How the word is built

• en- (to put in or provide)
• dow (from Latin dotare: to give a gift or dowry)
• -ment (noun suffix: the result or thing given)