Mitgift

German[edit]

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Mitgift

From Middle High German mitegift (“dowry”). Analysable as mit +‎ Gift, the latter word here has the sense “gift; donation”.

Mitgift f (genitive Mitgift, plural Mitgiften)

dowry
Synonyms: Aussteuer; (sometimes dated) Heiratsgut
(figuratively) add-on, bonus
Synonym: Zugabe
(figuratively) talent, innate quality
- 2016, Pascal Basten, Recht der Polizei. Maßnahmen, Methoden, Mechanismen, Nomos, →DOI, →ISBN, 3. Teil: Rechtsgrundlagenrelevanz 4. Grundrechtskatalog im Recht der Polizei a) Menschenwürde Rn. 123, page 73:
  Würde kennzeichnet den Eigenwert des Menschen schlechthin als Mitgift seines Menschseins. Nipperdey, Die Würde des Menschen, S. 1
  Dignity is what characterizes the intrinsic value of man as such as an unalienable quality of his being human.

In German-speaking Europe, Mitgift is usually understood to be a gift to the bride by her own family, typically in the form of household goods (Aussteuer), but sometimes also money. These things become the property of the married couple after the wedding.
Chiefly when referring to other cultures, the word can also mean a payment by the family of the bride to that of the groom, or similar premarital financial transactions.

Declension of Mitgift [feminine]