Etymograph

English

endow

Endow comes from Anglo-Norman endouer, from Latin dotō ‘to endow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- ‘give’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-1‘give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃tis1‘giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōtis1reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōs2‘gift, endowment, talent’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdotō3as dōtāre‘to endow’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400endouer3
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500endowen3‘to endow with money, rights, advantages, or other benefits’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1561endow3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin dos
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin doto
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English endow
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1561, Baldassare Castiglione, London: Published by David Nutt […]: “And thus shal the aged Courtier, although he exercise…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*deh₃-Wiktionary, Latin dos‘give’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déh₃tisWiktionary, Latin dos‘giving’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dōtisWiktionary, Latin dosreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdōsWiktionary, Latin doto‘gift, endowment, talent’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdotōWiktionary, English endowas dōtāre‘to endow’
  6. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400endouerWiktionary, English endow
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500endowenWiktionary, English endow‘to endow with money, rights, advantages, or other benefits’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1561endowWiktionary, English endow. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1561, Baldassare Castiglione, London: Published by David Nutt […]: “And thus shal the aged Courtier, although he exercise…”

The story

Dōtō is derived from dōs (‘dowry; endowment, gift’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (‘to give’)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

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

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

through Latin dōs ‘gift, endowment, talent’

dowry, dower, 4 more

through Latin dotō ‘to endow’

dow, dowager, 3 more

Today it means

verb 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.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “endow”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin dos, Latin doto. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

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

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