endowment
UK[ɪnˈdaʊmənt]US[ɪnˈdaʊmənt]
n
a natural quality or ability that someone is born with.
n
money or property that is given to a person or an organization such as a school or a hospital, in order to provide it with an income.
Morpheme Breakdown
en
dow
ment
en
cause to be
dow
give
ment
state or result of
Etymology
the word 'endowment' has a clear lineage of giving. its core lies in the latin verb 'dōtāre', meaning to provide with a dowry or gift, which itself stems from the noun 'dōs' (gift). this latin root can be traced further back to the prolific proto-indo-european root dō-, meaning simply "to give". the prefix 'en-' (from latin 'in-') was added to intensify or internalize the action, meaning "to cause to be in a state of being given". finally, the suffix '-ment' concretizes the action into a noun denoting the result or condition. thus, the literal "result of causing to be given" evolved into the modern meanings of a bestowed fund or an innate gift given by nature.
Analysis
Structure: en (cause to be) + dow (give) + ment (state or result of)
en: from latin 'in-', a prefix meaning "in, into, cause to be".
dow: from latin 'dōtāre' (to endow), from 'dōs' (gift, dowry), from the proto-indo-european root dō- (to give).
ment: from latin '-mentum', a suffix forming nouns that denote the action or result of an action.
Examples
she has a natural endowment for music and languages.
the university's library was built using funds from a private endowment.
the foundation manages a large financial endowment to support scientific research.