French word

douer

Pronunciation

IPA/dwe/

Meaning

  • verbendow

Example

La nature l'a doué d'une voix magnifique.

Nature endowed him with a magnificent voice.

Illustration for douer (endow)

More examples

Ses professeurs l'ont doué d'une curiosité vive.

His teachers endowed him with a lively curiosity.

Core concept

A person receives an ability that becomes part of what they can do and how others assess them.

Common phrases

  • douer quelqu'un d'un talent

    endow someone with a talent

  • douer quelqu'un de patience

    endow someone with patience

Similar words

donner: To hand something to another person.
offrir: To offer a gift or opportunity to someone.

Definition in French

Donner à quelqu'un une capacité, une qualité ou un talent, souvent exprimé par la construction « douer quelqu'un de quelque chose ».

Word origin

French douer comes through Old French from Latin dotare, meaning to endow, and is related to dos, a gift or dowry.

Usage tips

  • The verb douer commonly takes a person as its direct object followed by de, as in douer quelqu'un de talent.

Opposites

Related words

  • douégiftedadjective
  • douancegiftednessnoun

Word lists with this word