dowdy 
A slatternly, slovenly, ill-dressed woman; a 
slattern, especially <>ni- who affects finery. 
1( she be never w> fowllc a ilmiilf. 
r<:"nrleijMytteriet, p. 112. 
Laura, to 1]U lady, was Imt a kitchen-wench; . . . Dido, 
aifoHi/.x ; rieopatra, a uipsy. Shak., R. ami J., ii. 4. 
Ili'Ji rnmpanv ; aiii'iiu i>!h. i .. the Dnehcssof Alhemurle, 
who is ever a plain, homely dotcdy. 7V/>i/*, Diary, I. 158. 
II. a. Slovenly; ill-dressed; slatternly: ap- 
plied to women. 
No huswifery the ilmnly creature knew ; 
To sum up all, her tonKue confessed the Bhrew. 
GUI/, Shepherd's Week, Wednesday. 
I'allas in lier stockings bine, 
Imposing, but a little domlii. 
0. V. //../... The Kirst Fun. 
dowdyish (dou'di-ish), a. [< doirdy + -ish 1 .] 
Like a dowdy; somewhat dowdy. 
dowel (dou'el), n. [Also formerly or dial. </<>til, 
prob. < P. ilniiillr, a socket, the barrel of a pis- 
tol (Cotgravo), < ML. 'ductillua (f), dim. of duc- 
tus, a canal, duct: see duct, coiiduift, and cf. 
dossil. On the other hand, cf. G. dobel for *tii- 
M;<UHa.MM,OHO.wpii 
1. A wooden or metallic pin 
or tenon used for securing 
together two pieces of wood, 
Stone, etc. Corresponding holes 
fitting the dowel 1" hu made in 
each of the t\v<> piei e-. mie half 
of the pin is inserted into the hole 
in the one piece, and the other 
piece is then thrust home on it. 
The dowel may serve either as a 
permanent attachment of the two 
pieces joined, or as a shifting one ; 
in the latter case one end is secure 
,atap 
(] 
Barrel-c 
join 
d by pin 
P lu & 
. 
i 
i 
nail.] 
D 
itt in three pieces 
ed by Dowels. 
e and the other 
is left free, as in the movable leaves of an extension table. 
2. A piece of wood driven into a wall to re- 
ceive nails of skirtings, etc. ; a dook. 
dowel (dou'el), v. t. ; pret. and pp. doweled or 
<licellcd, ppr. doweling or dowelling. [< dowel, 
n.] To fasten together, as two boards, by pins 
inserted in the edges : as, to domrl pieces which 
are to form the head of a cask. Sometimes 
written dowl. 
dowel-bit (dou'el-bit), n. A boring-tool the 
barrel of which is a half-cylinder terminating 
in a conoidal cutting edge or radial point. It 
is used in a brace. Also called spoon-bit. 
dowel-joint (dou'el- joint), n. A joint made by 
means of a dowel or dowels. 
dowel-pin (dou'el-pin), n. Adowel used to fas- 
ten together two boards or timbers. 
dowel-pointer (dou'el-poin'ter), n. A hollow 
cone-shapod tool with a cutting edge on its in- 
ner face, used to point or chamfer the ends of 
dowels so that they can be more readily driven. 
dower 1 !, . See dougher. 
dower'- 2 (dou'6r), n. [< ME. dower, dowere, dow- 
ayre, < AF. dowerc, OF. doaire, F. douaire = Pr. 
dotaire, < ML. dotarium (also doarium, after 
OF.), dower, < L. dos (dot-), dower: see doft, 
dotation, dow*, endow.] 1. The property which 
a woman brings to her husband at marriage ; 
dowry. 
Is there a virgin of good fame wants dower t 
He is a father to her. Fletcher, Beggars' Bush, i. 3. 
He wedded a wife of richest dower, 
Who lived for fashion, as he for power. 
D'hittier, Maud Mtlller. 
2. In lair, the portion which the law allows to 
a widow for her lifo out of the real property 
in which her deceased husband held an estate 
of inheritance. At common law it is one third of such 
real property held by the husband at any time during the 
marriage as the common issue of the husband und wife 
might have inherited, except such property as has heencon- 
veyed with the concurrence of the wife. The wife may also 
bar the right of dower by accepting a jointure. By modify- 
ing statutes, in some of the Tnited States, the dower is some- 
times a share in fee, :in<l sometimes extends only to prop- 
erty which the husband held at the time of ills death. In 
England, by the Dower Act of 1833, the common-law rights 
of the wife have been greatly modified, her dower being 
entirely under the control of the husband. In the earlier 
periods of the common law several kinds of dower were 
usual, as doitvr atl ostinni rcclr-sue, which was dower vol- 
untarily pledged by the husband at the porch of the church 
where the marriage was solemnized ; and in this case the 
share might lie less than a third, or (except for a restric- 
tion at one time impo^-d for the protection of the inter- 
ests of feudal lords) it might be more than a third. This 
was, sometimes at least, <l"!ie by the <lee]aiatin in the 
marriage srrviee "with all my lands I thee endow," or the 
husband might specify a particular manor or other lands. 
If he hail no lands, or chose to mention j:oods only, the 
declaration was. as now. "with all my worldly goods I 
thee einlow, in which case the wife, if she survived him. 
was entitled to a third of the personal property left hy 
him; and if he left lands, the law. notwithstanding his 
omission to promise dower in them, pave hu 1 what was 
i-alleil r,\t<;nahl<- <lic- > . r </"" '" custom, viz., 
the life e.state in one third as above <lesi rilied. unless she 
had accepted u jointure or other provision in lieu of dower. 
The dotf'-i' of laniN in Ku^lish law . . . belonged to a 
class of institutions widely spread over western Europe, 
1749 
very similar In general character, often designated u don- 
num. but differing considerably in detail. 
.ir.i.m , Karly Hist, of Institutions, p. 338. 
3. One's portion of natural gifts ; personal en- 
dowment. 
He s noble every way, and worth a wife 
With all the dowers of virtue. 
Beau, and /'!., Honest Man's Fortune, v. 3. 
And if, as toward the silent tomb we go, 
'I 'lirouuh love, through hope, and faith's transcendent 
:/ml; r, 
We feel that we are greater than we know. 
Wordsworth, River Duddon, xxxiv. 
Admeasurement of dower, a proceeding to set oH to 
a widow the third of her deceased husband's property to 
which she is legally entitled. Assignment of dower. 
See atriyti, t. Inchoate right of dower, that antici- 
pation of a right of dower which a wife of the owner of 
real property has during his life, it lieiug contingent on 
her surviving as his widow. Release of dower, the act 
or instrument by which an inchoate right of dower i* 
extinguished. At common law this is effected only by 
joining in the husband's deed of conveyance. To assign 
dower. See oi>. To bar dower, to preclude tiie 
claiming of dower by a widow, as by her joining her hus- 
band in conveying during his life. Writ of dower, a 
process for the establishing of the right of dower, or the 
recovery of the land by the widow, 
dower'^ (dou'6r), r. <. [<dotcr 2 , .] To furnish 
with dower ; portion ; endow. 
Will you, . . . 
!>"!/ r'd with our curse, and stranger d with our oath, 
Take her, or leave her? Shak., Lear, i. 1. 
The poet in a golden clime was born, 
With golden stars above ; 
Dower'd with the hate of hate, the scorn of scorn, 
The love of love. Tennyton, The Poet. 
dower-house (dou'fer-hous), n. In Great Brit- 
ain, a house provided for the residence of a 
widow after the estate of her husband, with its 
manor-house, has passed to the heir, 
dowerless (dou'er-les), a. [< doicer + -less 1 .'] 
Destitute of dower; having no portion or for- 
tune. 
Dow'rletn to court some peasant's anus, 
To guard your withered age from harms. 
E. More, The Colt and the Farmer, Fable 12. 
doweryt (dou'er-i), n. An obsolete form of 
dowry. 
dowf (douf), a. [Sc., also written douf, dolf, 
etc., < Icel. daufr, deaf, dull, = E. deaf, q. v. Cf. 
dove 1 *.] 1. Dull ; flat ; noting a defect of spirit 
or animation, and also of courage ; melancholy; 
gloomy; inactive; lethargic; pithless; vapid; 
wanting force ; frivolous. Jamieson. 
They're [Italian lays) dow/and dowie at the best, 
Dow/ and dowie, dowf and dowie, 
They're dowf and dowie at the best, 
Wi' a' their variorum. J. Skinner, Tullochgorum. 
2. Dull; hollow: as. a dowf sound. Jamieson. 
dowie (dou'i), a. Dull; melancholy; in bad 
health; in bad tune. [Scotch.] 
She mauna put on the black, the black, 
Nor yet the dowie brown. 
Street Willie and Fair Annie (Child's Ballads, II. 135). 
O bonny, bonny, sang the bird, 
Sat on the coil o' hay, 
But dowie, dowie, was the maid 
That follow'd the corpus' clay. 
Clerk Saundert, II. 324. 
dowitch(dou'ich),n. Same a,sdoir iff her. [Local, 
U. S. (New York).] 
dowitcher (dou'ich-er), n. [A corruption of 
Or. deutsch, German (or D. daitsch, Dutch), 
deutscher, a German : see Dutch.] The red- 
breasted or gray-backed snipe, Macrorhamphun 
grisetts: a popular and now a book name of this 
species, which was formerly locally (Long Is- 
land and vicinity) called German or Dutch xiii/it; 
to distinguish itfrom the so-called English snipe, 
Gallinago trilsoni. A closely related species, M. scolo- 
paceiis, is known as the long-billed, western, or white-tailed 
ditwitcher. The name is sometimes locally misapplied to 
the pectoral sandpiper, Actodroma* mamlata. Also dote- 
itch, doicitchee. Bastard dowitcher or do witch, the 
stilt-sandpiper, Micropalama himantojws. 
dowk, dowke (douk), n. [E. dial., prob. = Sc. 
dtilk, varieties of slate clay, sometimes common 
clay, = dauch, "a soft and black substance 
chiefly of clay, mica, and what resembles coal- 
dust," = daugh = E. dough, q. v.] The name 
given in the mining districts of the north of Eng- 
land to the dark-colored argillaceous material 
which not unfrequently constitutes a consider- 
able part of the veins. 
The news of bonny ttmrk and excellent rider have fre- 
quently proved the only solace of unsuccessful adven- 
tures. Soptrith, Mining District of Alston Moor, p. 109. 
dowl (doul), H. [Also written doicle, dont, prob. 
< OF. douillc, doillr, dmilli; soft, something soft 
(>F. douillet, soft, downy, douillcttc, a wadded 
garment), F. dial, douilles, hairs, < L. duetilix, 
ductile : see ductile.] One of the filaments 
which make up the blade of a feather; a fiber 
of down; down. 
down 
There U a certain shell-flail in the sea . . . that l*ar 
a mossy doirle or wool, whereof eloth was spun. 
// ' n/Jfan. Artt(\66\). 
No feather or dotrlr of a feather but was heavy enough 
for him. De Quincey. 
dowlas, dowlass (dou'las), n. [Prob. , like many 
other names of cloths, from a town-name ; said 
to be from Doulletis, a town in the department 
of Somme, France.] A strong and coarse linen 
cloth, used, until the introduction of machine- 
woven cotton cloth, for purposes not requiring 
fine linen. Yorkshire aud the south of Scotland 
were the chief places of its manufacture during 
the eighteenth century. 
The maid, subdued by fees, her trunk unlocks, 
And gives the cleanly aid of dou>fa#x-sinocks. 
Gan, To the Karl of Burlington. 
dowledt. " [ME., < doicle, doule, dole, etc.: 
see <ii >/>-.] Dead; flat. Halliwell. 
And loke ye gyue no persone noo doirled drynke, for it 
wyll breke y scabbe. Balxet Book (E. E. T. .), p. 288. 
dowless (dou'les), a. [Sc., also dolexs, < tloiri, 
= dip, + -less.] Feeble; wanting spirit or 
activity; shiftless. 
Dawlea fowk, for health gaue down, 
Along your howms IK- streekan 
Their limnis this day. 1'icken, Poems, p. 55. 
dowlyt, adv. [ME. , < dowie, doule, dole, etc. : see 
dole*.] Feebly; despairingly. 
With falnttyngA feblenes he fell to the ground 
All dowly, for dole, in a dede swone. 
Dettructwn of Troy (E. E. T. 8.), L 13937. 
down 1 (doun), . [Early mod. E. also dotcne, 
doune; < ME. down, doun, earlier dune, dun, a 
hill, < AS. dun, a hill, = OHG. din, a promon- 
tory, = 8w. dial, dun, a hill; in the other Tent. 
languages confined to a special sense : = OFries. 
dune, NFries. diine= MD. duvne, D. duin = MLG. 
dune, LG. dune (> G. dune = E. dune, dial, dene 
= F. dune = It. Sp. Pg. duna), a sand-hill, a 
sand-bank, a shifting ridge of sand (see dune); 
prob. of Celtic origin, < Ir. dun, a hill, mount, fort, 
= W. din, a hill-fort (OCelt. "dun, in Latinized 
place-names, as Lugdunum, Lyons, Augustodu- 
num, etc.), = OHG. MHG. zun, Q. zauu = OS. 
tun = AS. tun = Icel. tun, an inclosed place, 
an inclosure, a town (see town, which is thus 
cognate with down) ; perhaps = Gr. 6Vf (6iv-), a 
heap, a heap of sand, the beach or sea-shore, 
= Skt. illiniuiK, a sand-bank, dhanvan, beach, 
shore. Hence dowifi, adv., prep., and .] 1. 
A hill ; a hill of moderate elevation and more 
or less rounded outline : in this general sense 
now chiefly in poetry, as opposed to dale, vale, 
valley. 
The dubbement [adornment) dere of rfoun& dalez, 
Of wod & water & wlonk [beautiful) playnez, 
Bylde in me blys, abated my balez. 
Alliterative Pocmi (ed. Morris), i. 121. 
Dowiw, that almost escape th inquiring eye, 
That melt aud fade into the distant sky. 
Cowper, Retirement 
A traveller who has gained the brow 
Of some aerial doitm. H'onfotrorf/i, Prelude, ix, 
A long street climbs to one tall-tower'd mill, 
And high in heaven behind it a gray dotm. 
Tennijion, Enoch Arden. 
[This word enters (as Dun-, Don-, -doim. -dan) into the 
names of numerous places formerly inhabited by the Celts 
in England, referring originally to a fortified hill, or a hill 
advantageously situated for defense.] 
2. Same as dune. Hence 3. A bare, level 
space on the top of a hill; more generally, a 
high, rolling region not covered by forests. 
My bosky acres, and my unshrubb'd <{oir. 
Shale., Tempest, Iv. 1. 
My flocks are many, and the dmrnx as large 
They feed upon. 
Fletcher, Faithful Shepherdess, i. S. 
4. pi. Specifically, certain districts in south- 
ern and southeastern England which are un- 
derlain by the Chalk (which see). These district* 
are considerably elevated above the adjacent awas, and 
are dry in consequence of the absorbent nature of the un- 
derlying rock. They are not forest-covered, lint form nat- 
ural pastures, and are largely given over to sheep-raising. 
The North Downs are in Kent, England ; the South Downs, 
in Sussex. The one is to the north, the other to the south. 
of the remarkable district known as the Weald (which see). 
Various other areas of similar character are called downs, 
and to this word there is often some geographical prefix, 
as the Marlborouyh Dvtntit. When used to designate an 
area of considerable extent, the word is always made 
Rlural, and means simply the hills, or the highlands. A 
mited portion of this hiVh, rolling region is often called 
the down. The Downs, as a proper name, a roadstead on 
the coast of Kent in England, near the entrance to the 
strait of Hover, where tin- North Downs meet the coast- 
line. It lies between the N'orth and South Forelands, op- 
posite Deal. Sandwich, and Ramsgate, inside of the shal- 
low called the Goodwin Sands, and is an important shelter 
for shipping. 
All in the Doim* the fleet was moored. 
Gay, Black-eyed Susan. 
