Etymologically
Log in

dos

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 05:09. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈdoːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈdɔs][1]

Forms

dōs f (genitive dōtis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *dōt- (“endowment”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dē/ōh₃-t- (“gift”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to give”) of dō.[2][1] Cognate with Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis, “giving, gift”) and Ancient Greek δώς (dṓs, “gift”).[1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Plautus, whose character wants to marry a girl without a dowry.[5][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant the property a bride brought to her husband, a dowry, as Plautus' virgō dōte cassa “a girl without a dowry”.[3][6] By extension it meant any endowment, a quality or talent adorning mind or body, as Ovid's advice to please by whatever gift one has, and a virtue or advantage of a thing.[3]

In Medieval Latin it meant a bridegroom's gift to the bride, a dower, and an endowment of a church or monastery.[7][8] It survives in Italian and Spanish dote and French dot.[1] English dowry and English dower come from the verb dōtāre through Old French doaire.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a dowry.[3][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of personal gifts.[3][5]
  • c. 1400 – English dowry is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A dowry.[3]
  2. An endowment.[3]
  3. A gift, talent.[3]
  4. An advantage, virtue (of a thing).[3]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A dower; an endowment of a church.[7]

Word family

  • dōtālis
  • dōtō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com