Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (n.) The act of bestowing a dower, fund, or permanent provision for support.

2. (n.) That which is bestowed or settled on a person or an institution; property, fund, or revenue permanently appropriated to any object; as, the endowment of a church, a hospital, or a college.

3. (n.) That which is given or bestowed upon the person or mind; gift of nature; accomplishment; natural capacity; talents; -- usually in the plural.