endow

verb

1. (transitive)To give property to (someone) as a gift; specifically, to provide (a person or institution) with support in the form of a permanent fund of money or other benefits.

   “His [John, King of England's] Acts and Orders for the VVeale-publike vvere beyond moſt: hee being either the firſt, or the chiefeſt, vvho appointed thoſe noble Formes of Ciuill gouernement in London, and moſt Cities, and Incorporate Tovvnes of England, endovving them alſo vvith their greateſt Franchiſes; […]”

   “Men began to build Churches on their own Grounds, at their own Charges, and to endow theſe; and they were naturally the Maſters, and in the true Signification of the Roman word, the Patrons of them.”

   “Finding her quite incorrigible in this respect, Emma suffered her to depart; but not before she had confided to her that important and never-sufficiently-to-be-taken-care-of answer, and endowed her moreover with a pretty little bracelet as a keepsake.”

   “The blessing of private initiative for public affairs is destined to be appreciated more deeply. Empty government coffers and a regular exchange of views with experts from all over the world add impetus, even if concepts developed indigenously sometimes still lack a realistic approach to the vital issue of endowing and funding new foundations.”

2. (transitive)To enrich or furnish with some faculty or quality.

   “Wherby we bith lerned þat it shalnot only be goode to owre prince, but also to vs selff, that he be well indowed; ffor ellis the patriarke wolde not haue made such a trety.”

   “Vpon her eyelids many Graces ſate, / Vnder the ſhadow of her euen browes, / VVorking belgardes [beautiful looks], and amorous retrate [portrait], / And euerie one her with a grace endowes: […]”

   “Father Omnipotent, our Lord and only Redeemer, / […] with thy grace my ſpirit endow: […]”

   “Firſt, it is needfull that we be indowed with humility of ſpirit, that denying our owne ſelves and carnall reaſon, wee may ſubmit to take ſuch ſence and meaning of the Scripture, as it of it ſelfe affords, with the aſſiſtance of the helps of the Church; and not to impoſe upon it any ſenſe of our owne making; […]”

   “[A]midst so many vicissitudes of fortune to which I have been exposed, amongst all the goods and evils, the joyful and gloomy, the pleasing and disagreeable circumstances of life, thou [God] endowest me with an equal, constant, manly, and superior spirit on every occasion.”

3. (transitive)To naturally furnish (with something).

   “She was endowed with a beautiful voice.”

   “And thus shal the aged Courtier, although he exercise not the qualities that he is indowed withal, comebye his ende at length, to instructe well hys Prince.”

   “[T]he late Monſ. Du Faye [i.e., Charles François de Cisternay du Fay] obſerv'd, that there were two Sorts of Electricity, and that Bodies which are endow'd with one Sort of Electricity attract thoſe which are endow'd with the other Sort of Electricity, whilſt they repel thoſe which have the ſame Electricity.”

   “He [Richard Watson] produced many chemical, phyſical, and metaphyſical reaſons, which ſeem to render the ſuppoſition not altogether indefenſible, that vegetables are endowed with the faculty of perception.”

   “A few naturalists, endowed with much flexibility of mind, and who have already begun to doubt on the immutability of species, may be influenced by this volume; but I look with confidence to the future, to young and rising naturalists, who will be able to view both sides of the question with impartiality.”

4. (archaic, obsolete, transitive)To provide with a dower (“the portion that a widow receives from her deceased husband's property”) or a dowry (“property given to a bride”).

   “And if a man entice a maide that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he ſhall ſurely endow her to be his wife. If her father utterly refuſe to giue her vnto him, he ſhall pay money according to the dowrie of virgins.”

   “Also if a man ſeiſed in Fee Simple beeing within age endoweth his wife at the Monaſterie or Church doore, and dieth, and his wife enter, in this caſe the heire of the huſband may out her. But otherwiſe it is, (as it ſeemeth) where the father is ſeiſed in fee, and the ſonne within age endoweth his wife ex aſſenſu patris, the Father being then of full age.”

   “[T]he reaſon, which our law gives for adopting it [i.e., dower], is a very plain and a ſenſible one; for the ſuſtenance of the wife, and the nurture and education of the younger children. […] 1. Who may be endowed. She muſt be the actual wife of the party at the time of the deceaſe. If ſhe be divorced a vinculo matrimonii, ſhe ſhall not be endowed; […]”

   “A widow may be endowed of all her husband's lands, tenements, and hereditaments, corporeal or incorporeal, under the restrictions before-mentioned, unless there be some special reason to the contrary. Thus, a woman shall not be endowed of a castle built for defence of the realm, because it ought not to be divided. But of a castle that is only for the private use and habitation of the owner, a woman shall be endowed.”