An alternate spelling of 'dower' or 'dowry'; property or money brought to marriage by the bride.
Variant spelling of 'dower,' possibly influenced by 'dowry'; from the same Old French and Latin roots referring to marital property.
The different spellings—dower, dowery, dowry—emerged as medieval scribes had no standardized spelling, so these variants coexisted for centuries before standardization settled the question.
Dowery (variant spelling of dowry) encodes women as economic dependents in marriage, institutionalizing the transfer of women's property and economic status to husbands.
Use historically; when discussing dowery systems, center women's lack of economic independence and property rights as a feature of legal inequality, not tradition.
["bridal property","spousal property transfer","historical marriage payment"]
Women who retained control of dower property through legal negotiation or inheritance law exceptions exercised rare economic autonomy; these cases challenge the inevitability of dowery subordination.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.