Definition
Without a dower; lacking property or money at the time of marriage.
Etymology
From 'dower' plus the suffix '-less,' meaning 'without,' indicating absence of a dower.
Kelly Says
Being 'dowerless' was a social catastrophe in medieval times—a girl without a dower had almost no prospects for marriage, which is why families sometimes sacrificed greatly to provide one for each daughter.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
የትምህርት መብት
ye-tem-hirt mebt
CACatalà
sense dot
sen-se doh-t
CSČeština
bez posádky
bez po-sa-d-ky
DADansk
uden brudgift
u-den broo-d-gift
DEDeutsch
dotenlos
do-ten-los
ELΕλληνικά
χωρίς προίκα
cho-ris pro-i-ka
ESEspañol
sin dote
sin doh-teh
FISuomi
ilman morsianlahjaa
il-man mor-s-ian-lah-jaa
FRFrançais
sans dot
san do
HEעברית
ללא מלא
le-la ma-la
HIहिन्दी
दान रहित
daan ra-hit
HUMagyar
nincs hozzájárulás
nincsh ho-zza-jar-u-lo-sa
IDBahasa Indonesia
tanpa mahar
tan-pa ma-har
IGIG
nwere nkwu
nwe-re nk-wu
ITItaliano
senza dote
sen-za doh-teh
JA日本語
嫁入り道具がない
yatoi-dōgu ga nai
KKKK
дауытталған
da-u-yt-tal-gan
KMKM
បានទទួល
ba-an to-d-u-ol
KO한국어
부여받지 못한
bu-yeo-ba-ji mot-han
MSBahasa Melayu
tanpa mahar
tan-pa ma-har
MYမြန်မာ
အမျိုးသမီး တက်
a-myo-tha-mee ta-t
NLNederlands
zonder bruidsschat
zon-der broo-ids-chat
NONorsk
uten brudgave
u-ten broo-d-ga-ve
PLPolski
bez posagu
bez po-sag
PTPortuguês
sem dote
sem doh-teh
RORomână
fără dote
fa-ra doh-teh
RUРусский
без приданого
bez pri-da-na-go
SVSvenska
utan brudgift
oo-tan broo-d-gift
SWKiswahili
hakika
ha-ki-ka
TAதமிழ்
கணவன் மனைவி
ka-na-van ma-na-vi
TEతెలుగు
బంగారు
ban-ga-ru
THไทย
ไม่มีสินสอด
mai mee sin-sa-ot
TLTL
walang dowry
wa-lang dow-ry
TRTürkçe
dowersiz
dow-er-siz
UKУкраїнська
без приданого
bez pri-da-na-go
VITiếng Việt
không có
khong co
YOYO
ni ṣe ẹ̀ṣẹ́
ni ṣe e-ṣe
ZH中文
没有嫁妆
méi yǒu yà zhuāng
Ethical Language Guidance
Gender History
Dowerless encodes a woman's marriageability and social worth as dependent on property ownership, marking women without dowries as deficient or unmarriageable.
Inclusive Usage
Avoid when possible; if historical context requires it, reframe as 'women without property' or discuss how lack of dowry affected women's choices rather than their worth.
Inclusive Alternatives
["without property","economically excluded","denied inheritance"]
Empowerment Note
Dowerless women often had greater independence since marriage was economically unviable; some actively resisted dowry systems to remain unmarried and autonomous.