endowments
endowments — noun
1. a large gift of money or valuable property that is given to an institution such
a large gift of money or valuable property that is given to an institution such as a university, hospital, or cultural centre. The institution invests this money and spends the income it produces on its work.
The university used its endowment to build a new wing for chemistry laboratories.
endowment invested in facilities
Dr. Amara set up an endowment for medical research at the teaching hospital in Nairobi.
set up an endowment for [purpose]
Small private colleges often struggle to grow their endowments enough to fund new programmes.
The museum's endowment from the Wang family covers the cost of preserving ancient artefacts.
Without a large endowment, the community arts centre depends on yearly donations from local businesses.
- donation
any gift of money; an endowment is a specific type of donation meant to be invested for ongoing income rather than spent immediately
- bequest
money or property left in a will; an endowment may come from a bequest or from a living donor
- grant
money given for a specific project or purpose, not necessarily invested to produce income
文法句型
endowment + of + noun
endowment + for + purpose
用法筆記
When referring to the act of giving, this sense is uncountable (The university benefited from generous endowment). When referring to specific funds, it is countable (The college received three separate endowments).
常見錯誤
2. a natural quality, talent, or ability that a person is born with — for example,
a natural quality, talent, or ability that a person is born with — for example, a gift for music, a sharp intelligence, or a calm and patient nature.
Fatima's intellectual endowments made her the youngest student to win the national science award.
Natural endowments alone do not guarantee a long career in professional sports.
natural endowments alone + negative result
The poet Yuki's natural endowments included a sharp eye for detail and a gift for storytelling.
Parents who notice a child's endowments early can help develop those talents at school.
In her speech, Dean Okafor praised the students' intellectual gifts and their natural endowments.
- gift
more common in everyday speech; 'endowment' is more formal and often suggests broad intellectual or character qualities rather than a specific skill
- talent
focuses on a specific developed ability; 'endowment' emphasises the inborn source of the quality
- attribute
a neutral term for any quality, positive or negative; 'endowment' implies a valuable or admirable quality
文法句型
possessive + endowments
natural endowments
用法筆記
This sense is almost always used in the plural (endowments) or with a possessive determiner (her endowments). It belongs to formal or literary register and is more common in written academic English than in everyday conversation.