资料来源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Dower \Dow"er\, n. [F. douaire, LL. dotarium, from L. dotare to
   endow, portion, fr. dos dower; akin to Gr. ? gift, and to L.
   dare to give. See 1st {Date}, and cf. {Dot} dowry,
   {Dotation}.]
   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:
      (a) That which a woman brings to a husband in marriage;
          dowry. [Obs.]

                His wife brought in dower Cilicia's crown.
                                                  --Dryden.
      (b) (Law) 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.

   Note: Dower, in modern use, is and should be distinguished
         from dowry. The former is a provision for a widow on
         her husband's death; the latter is a bride's portion on
         her marriage. --Abbott.

   {Assignment of dower}. See under {Assignment}.

Assignment \As*sign"ment\, n. [LL. assignamentum: cf. OF.
   assenement.]
   1. An allotting or an appointment to a particular person or
      use; or for a particular time, as of a cause or causes in
      court.

   2. (Law)
      (a) A transfer of title or interest by writing, as of
          lease, bond, note, or bill of exchange; a transfer of
          the whole of some particular estate or interest in
          lands.
      (b) The writing by which an interest is transferred.
      (c) The transfer of the property of a bankrupt to certain
          persons called assignees, in whom it is vested for the
          benefit of creditors.

   {Assignment of dower}, the setting out by metes and bounds of
      the widow's thirds or portion in the deceased husband's
      estate, and allotting it to her.

   Note: Assignment is also used in law as convertible with
         specification; assignment of error in proceedings for
         review being specification of error; and assignment of
         perjury or fraud in indictment being specifications of
         perjury or fraud.