the.com/dowry
A dowry is money or property a bride's family gives to the groom's family at marriage, historically tied to women's unequal status.
means Money or property a bride's family hands over to the groom (or the new couple) at marriage — a dowry.
from From Latin 'dos' (gift, dowry), via Old French 'douaire' and Anglo-Norman 'dowarie.' 'Dos' itself traces back to the ancient Indo-European root 'do-,' meaning 'to give' — the same root that gives us 'donate' and 'date' (as in a gift of time). So the word has always been about handing something over; marriage just gave it a price tag.
- direction reversed
- bride price went to her family; dowry went the other way
- legal in india
- banned since 1961, still paid in most weddings anyway
- economic theory
- rises when grooms are scarce, marriage markets obey supply and demand
- etymology
- from latin dos, same root as endow