A dowry (also known as trousseau) is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage.
The opposite direction, property given to the bride by the groom, is called dower or mahr. Normally the bride would be entitled to her dowry in event of her widowhood, prior to the evolution of her dower rights; so common was this that the terms “dowry” and “dower” are sometimes confused.
The dowry should not be confused with a bride price, money or goods paid by the prospective groom to the bride’s parents in exchange for her hand in marriage.