"To endow" means two things
- To grant sponsorship, finances, or services (as in, "The large endowment from the non-profit organization ensured that the cancer research could be continued for at least ten more years."
- A gift bestowed, often by nature, heredity, or personal experience (e.g. "My parents endowed in me a sense of honesty and hardwork." OR "Nature has endowed the cheetah with incredible speed." OR (most famously) "...all men,endowed by their creator...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..."
However you use it, remember that endow has a much deeper connotation than "handed" or "give." You would not, for example, say "He endowed upon me the credit card so that we could pay for the groceries."
