Endowment \En*dow"ment\, n.

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

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

His early endowments had fitted him for the work he was to do. --I. Taylor.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)