dower vs estate

dower

noun
  • The part of or interest in a deceased husband's property provided to his widow, usually in the form of a life estate. 

  • Property given by a groom directly to his bride at or before their wedding in order to legitimize the marriage; dowry. 

verb
  • To endow. 

  • To give a dower or dowry to. 

estate

noun
  • The collective property and liabilities of someone, especially a deceased person. 

  • An organization's collective information technology resources. 

  • A station wagon; a car with a tailgate (or liftgate) and storage space to the rear of the seating which is coterminous with the passenger compartment (and often extensible into that compartment via folding or removable seating). 

  • An (especially extensive) area of land, under a single ownership. 

  • The nature and extent of a person's interest in, or ownership of, land. 

  • A housing estate. 

  • The landed property owned or controlled by a government or a department of government. 

  • A major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country and formerly possessing distinct political rights (Estates of the realm). 

adj
  • Previously owned; secondhand. 

How often have the words dower and estate occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )