Etymograph

English

dowager

Dowager comes from Middle French douagere, from Latin dōtō ‘to endow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘give’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-‘give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃tis‘giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōtisreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōs‘gift, endowment, talent’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōtō‘to endow’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600douagere
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1907dowager

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-‘give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃tis‘giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōtisreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōs‘gift, endowment, talent’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōtō‘to endow’
  6. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600douagere
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1907dowager

Earliest quotation: 1907, Robert William Chambers, New York: “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘give’

data, date, add, die, addition, rent, tradition, delicious, dose, surrender, treason, donate, donation, vent, donor, vendor, render, rendition, additive, rendezvous, antidote, anecdote, condone, addendum, dative, perdition, dacha, dati, sconce, 39 more

through Latin dōs ‘gift, endowment, talent’

dowry, dower, 4 more

through Latin dōtō ‘to endow’

dow, endow, 3 more

Today it means

noun A widow holding property or title derived from her late husband.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- / dowager

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