endow

Etymology

From Late Middle English endowen, endouen, enduen, indouen, indw (“to provide with assets, a livelihood, or privileges; to bestow, grant; (figuratively) to favour; to endow”), from Anglo-Norman endouer, from Old French en- (prefix meaning ‘in, into’) + douer (“to endow”) (from Latin dōtāre (present active infinitive of dōtō (“to endow”)); modern French douer). Dōtō is derived from dōs (“dowry; endowment, gift”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to give”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).

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.
   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. 1713, Gilbert Lord Bishop of Sarum [i.e., Gilbert Burnet], “The Additional Chapter. Chap. X. Of Presentations to Benefices, and Simony”, in The New Preface and Additional Chapter to the Third Edition of the Pastoral Care.[…], London: Printed for D. Midwinter[…], and B. Cowse[…]; [a]nd sold by A. Baldwin[…], →OCLC, pages 27–28
   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. 1999, Rupert Graf Strachwitz, “Foundations in Germany and Their Revival in East Germany after 1989”, in Helmut K. Anheier, Stefan Toepler, editors, Private Funds, Public Purpose: Philanthropic Foundations in International Perspective (Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies), New York, N.Y.: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, page 232
2. (transitive) Followed by with, or rarely by of: 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. Whereby we have learned that it shall not only be good to our prince, but also to ourselves, that he be well endowed; for else the patriarch would not have made such a treaty.] [c. 1471, John Fortescue, “Here is Shewid, What off the Kynges Livelod Geven awey, mey Beste be Taken a Geyn”, in Charles Plummer, editor, The Governance of England: Otherwise Called The Difference between an Absolute and a Limited Monarchy[…] (in Middle English), London: Oxford University Press; Humphrey Milford, published 1885 (1926 printing), →OCLC, page 135
   Father Omnipotent, our Lord and only Redeemer, / […] with thy grace my ſpirit endow: […] 1599, The First Booke of the Preservation of King Henry the Vij. when He was but Earle of Richmond, Grandfather to the Queenes Maiesty:[…], imprinted at London: By R. B.[…], →OCLC; republished as J[ohn] P[ayne] C[ollier], editor, The First Booke of the Preservation of King Henry the Vij.[…] (Illustrations of Old English Literature; no. 11), [London?: s.n.], 1866, →OCLC, page 31
   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; […] 1637, John Sym, “The Self-murderers Motives to Kill Themselves”, in Lifes Preservative against Self-killing. Or, A Vsefvl Treatise Concerning Life and Self-murder;[…], London: Printed by M[iles] Flesher, for R[obert] Dawlman, and L[uke] Fawne,[…], →OCLC, §4 (Of Misunderstood Scripture Perverting the Iudgement; and the Remedy thereof), page 199
   [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. 1811, Benjamin Stillingfleet, chapter VIII, in W[illiam] Coxe, editor, Literary Life and Select Works of Benjamin Stillingfleet,[…], volume I (Literary Life), London: Printed by J[ames] Nichols and Son,[…]; for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown,[…], →OCLC, page 119
   Thus was he John Boyle O'Reilly] fitted to fulfill worthily the vocation of a poet. For it is not aimlessly that Divine Providence endows a human being with qualities so exceptional and exalted. 13 October 1890, James Gibbons, “Introduction”, in James Jeffrey Roche, edited by Mrs. John Boyle O’Reilly [i.e., Mary Agnes Murphy], Life of John Boyle O’Reilly, […] Together with His Complete Poems and Speeches, New York, N.Y.: Cassell Publishing Company,[…], published 1891, →OCLC, page vi
   [P]roper use of sensory feedback is required to grant the industrial robot the required sensing capabilities and to endow it with the intelligence needed for detecting and adjusting to environmental disturbances. 1993, H. Zghal, D. R. Strong, “A Perspective on the Use of Sensors in Robot Materials Handling”, in M. B. Zaremba, editor, Information Control Problems in Manufacturing Technology 1992: Selected Papers from the 7th IFAC/IFIP/IFORS/IMACS/ISPE Symposium, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 25–28 May 1992 (IFAC Symposia Series), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Published for the International Federation of Automatic Control by Pergamon Press, page 129, column 2
   General relativity endows spacetime with a causal structure described by observer-invariant light cones. […] Points inside a light cone are causally connected with its vertex, while points outside the same light cone are out-of-causal contact with its vertex. 2005, Maurice H. P. M. van Putten, “Superluminal Motion in the Quasar 3C273”, in Gravitational Radiation, Luminous Black Holes, and Gamma-ray Burst Supernovae, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, page 1
   Just as we may endow people with physical properties, so we sometimes endow physical objects with human-like personalities or subjective states. Perhaps because of their capacity for interior accommodation, cars, ships, airplanes and even houses are often given female characteristics or referred to as 'she'. 2015, Michael C[harles] Corballis, “Wandering into Other Minds”, in The Wandering Mind: What the Brain Does when You’re Not Looking, Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago Press, →DOI, page 77
   It's bulging with giant confidence and packed with outbursts of that mysterious epiphanic grandeur, like moments of sunlight breaking through cloud-cover, with which [Jacques] Audiard endows apparently normal sequences and everyday details. 7 April 2016, Peter Bradshaw, “Dheepan review – a crime drama packed with epiphanic grandeur”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-12-30
   Historic England explained the listing: "The station's unique design employs a high level of sophistication and innovation through its use of conoid shells supported on a cruck-like frame, which not only create a dramatic aesthetic form, but endow the building with a light and spacious interior." March 22 2023, Philip Haigh, “Five configuration stages to boost Manchester rail capacity”, in RAIL, number 979, page 31
3. (transitive) Usually in the passive: 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. 1561, Baldassare Castiglione, “The Fourth Booke of the Courtyer of Count Baldessar Castilio unto Maister Alphonsus Aristo”, in Thomas Hoby, transl., edited by W[illiam] E[rnest] Henley, The Book of the Courtier: From the Italian of Count Baldassare Castiglione: Done into English (The Tudor Translations; XXIII), London: Published by David Nutt[…], published 1900, →OCLC, pages 337–338
   [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. 1744, J[ohn] T[heophilus] Desaguliers, “Lecture X. Hydrostaticks.”, in A Course of Experimental Philosophy, volume II, London: Printed for W. Innys,[…]; M. Senex,[…]; and T[homas] Longman,[…], →OCLC, page 349
   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. 1787 December, “Art. XI. Chemical Essays. By R. Watson, […] Vol. V. 12mo. 4s. sewed. Evans. 1787. [book review]”, in The Monthly Review; or, Literary Journal, Enlarged, volume LXXVII, London: Printed for R[alph] Griffiths; and sold by T[homas] Becket,[…], published 1794, →OCLC, page 469
   A young violinist, thirteen years old—Mischa Elman—made his first appearance in Paris on April 2nd, in his own concert at the Salle de Agriculteurs. […] Mischa Elman, indeed, is endowed with most precious gifts, for his art combines the legendary virtuosity of [Niccolò] Paganini with the fulness of sound, the purity of style, and the nobility of expression of [Joseph] Joachim. 1 June 1905, “Letter from Paris”, in The Monthly Musical Record, volume XXXV, number 414, London: Augener Limited,[…], →OCLC, page 113, column 1
4. (transitive, archaic or obsolete) 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”).
   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. 1823, Peter Lovelass, Niel Gow, “Of the Descent of Real Estates, or Estates of Inheritance.[…]”, in The Law’s Disposal of a Person’s Estate who Dies without Will or Testament.[…], 11th edition, London: Printed for R. Pheney, Charles Hunter, J. and W. T. Clarke, and H[enry] Butterworth, →OCLC, section II (How the Law Disposes of a Wife’s Real Estate;[…]), page 125