Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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 : WordNet®

endowment
     n 1: natural qualities or talents [syn: {gift}, {talent}, {natural
          endowment}]
     2: the capital that provides income for an institution [syn: {endowment
        fund}]
     3: the act of endowing with a permanent source of income; "his
        generous endowment of the laboratory came just in the nick
        of time"