All 7 Uses

dowry
in
The Good Earth
(Auto-generated)

"Then the third daughter is to be married in the spring," continued O-lan, "and her dowry is a prince's ransom and enough to buy an official seat in a big city.†
Chpt 5
Well, and who will pay for the dowry and for the wedding and for the middleman's fees?†
Chpt 7 *
Let the dowry be good but not too great if the girl is suitable and if it can be arranged.†
Chpt 23
In the near days after this he sent his second son away into the town and he signed the papers for the second girl's betrothal and the dowry was decided upon and the gifts of clothing and jewelry for her marriage day were fixed.†
Chpt 25
Then the young man answered as smoothly and steadily as if he had the thing planned before, "I desire a maid from a village, of good landed family and without poor relatives, and one who will bring a good dowry with her, neither plain nor fair to look upon, and a good cook, so that even though there are servants in the kitchen she may watch them.†
Chpt 28
And the dowry is good for these times, and he has land.†
Chpt 29
"Hold the silver as dowry for me, my master," she said, "and if it is not a trouble to you, wed me to a farmer or to a good poor man.†
Chpt 32

Definitions:

(1) (dowry)
in some societies, money or property given by a woman's family to the husband at marriage

or less formally: money or property a bride brings to a marriage
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
More rarely, in some societies, a dowry may be given by a husband to his new wife. It can also refer to money paid upon entry to a monastic order.