'endow' originates from Middle English, specifically the word 'endowen', from Old French 'endouer', where the prefix 'en-' (from Latin 'in-'/en-) meant 'in, to cause' and the root related to Latin 'donare' meant 'to give'.

'endow' changed from Old French 'endouer' into Middle English 'endowen' and eventually became the modern English word 'endow'.

Initially, it meant 'to give (a donation) or to bestow property or income'; over time it also came to mean 'to provide with a characteristic or quality' (e.g., endowed with talent).