Definition
Lacking in dowry or without a dowry; describing someone, usually a woman, who has no marriage portion or financial endowment.
Etymology
From 'dow' (an obsolete word for dowry) plus the suffix '-less' meaning 'without'; reflects historical English when a woman's marriage prospects depended heavily on the money or property she brought to the union.
Kelly Says
In medieval and Renaissance Europe, being dowless was genuinely tragic—it meant a woman might never marry at all because families needed that financial exchange! This word reveals how economics and marriage were inseparably tangled for centuries, and dowries weren't just about love but about survival and family wealth.
Translations
AMአማርኛ
የሚሰራ{}
ye-mi se-ra
ARالعربية
بلا مهر
bila mahr
BNবাংলা
বিবাহ দান
bi-ba-ha da-an
CACatalà
sense dot
sen-sa dot
CSČeština
bez věna
bez ve-na
DADansk
uden medgift
u-den med-gift
DEDeutsch
dotenlos
do-ten-los
ELΕλληνικά
χωρίς προίκα
cho-ris pro-i-ka
ESEspañol
sin dote
sin do-teh
FAفارسی
بدون مهریه
be-doun meh-rieh
FISuomi
avioliittolahja
a-vo-li-it-to-lah-ja
FRFrançais
sans dot
san do
HEעברית
ללא קידושין
le-la ki-do-shin
HUMagyar
névtelen
nev-te-len
IDBahasa Indonesia
tanah perkawinan
ta-nah per-ka-wi-nan
ITItaliano
senza dote
sen-za do-teh
JA日本語
持家財産がない
mo-i-ka-zai-san ga nai
KO한국어
주식이 없는
ju-sik-i eon-neun
MSBahasa Melayu
tanpa mas kahwin
tan-pa mas ka-hwin
MYမြန်မာ
ကျွန်တော်
kyun-taw
NLNederlands
zonder bruidsschat
zon-der broo-ids-chat
NONorsk
uten medgift
u-ten med-gift
PLPolski
bez posagu
bez po-sag-u
PTPortuguês
sem dote
sem do-teh
RORomână
fără dote
fara do-teh
RUРусский
без приданого
bez pridanogo
SVSvenska
utan medgift
oo-tan med-gift
SWKiswahili
bila malipo
bi-la ma-li-po
TAதமிழ்
மணமகள்
ma-na-ma-gal
TEతెలుగు
కల్యాణం
ka-lya-na-m
THไทย
ไม่มีสินสอด
mai mee sin sod
TLTL
walang kayamanan
wa-lang ka-ya-na-man
UKУкраїнська
без приданого
bez pridanogo
VITiếng Việt
không có tài sản
khong co tai san
ZUZU
ngokuthi
ng-o-ku-thi