Dower

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. That with which one is gifted or endowed; endowment; gift. How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower! Sir J. Davies. Man in his primeval dower arrayed. Wordsworth.

2. The property with which a woman is endowed; especially:

3. That which a woman brings to a husband in marriage; dowry. [Obs.] His wife brought in dower Cilicia's crown. Dryden.

4. That portion of the real estate of a man which his widow enjoys during her life, or to which a woman is entitled after the death of her husband. Blackstone.