endowed

Everyday

1. If a person is endowed with something, they naturally have a good quality or ability: «endowed with great patience». tree →
2. If a school, hospital or college is endowed, someone has given it a large sum of money that keeps paying for it. tree →
3. (adult slang) a rude use about the body grown-ups make; not for school. tree →

In the lessons

In history and reading lessons you meet it in old-fashioned or formal writing: «Nature had endowed her with a quick mind». Old colleges and charities were «endowed» by rich people, so they still have money today. The US Declaration of Independence says people are «endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights». Phrases: «endowed with», «well endowed (school/college)», «an endowed chair (a paid professor's post)».

Examples

• She was endowed with a beautiful singing voice. tree →
• The old school was endowed by a rich merchant in 1600. tree →
• The museum is well endowed, so it can buy new paintings. tree →
• Cats are endowed with very sharp hearing. tree →
• The Declaration says people are endowed with certain rights. tree →
• The hospital was endowed by a family who wanted to help the poor. tree →
• He is endowed with supernatural powers, but he remains a man, for all that. tree →

Note

Usually with «with»: endowed with talent. Formal word; everyday speech says «she has a gift for» or «was given money». Noun: endowment (money given to keep an organisation going). Avoid the phrase «well endowed» about people, as it can be a rude joke.

In Jewish tradition

Leah uses it of God's gift of a son. It means that God gave her a good present.

Interpretation. Leah names her son Zebulun, linked to the idea of a dwelling. Tradition reads this as her hope that her husband would now live with her.

Examples

• And Leah said: 'God hath endowed me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.' And she called his name Zebulun. (Torah GEN.30.20, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Usually with «with»: endowed with talent. Formal word; everyday speech says «she has a gift for» or «was given money». Noun: endowment (money given to keep an organisation going). Avoid the phrase «well endowed» about people, as it can be a rude joke.