bestow

bestow \bih-STOH\, transitive verb:

1. To present as a gift or an honor; confer.
2. To apply; use.

Example Quotes:

He bestowed on him a pension of a hundred crowns a year.
-- John Richard Green, Short History of the English People

In 1933...a hurricane bestowed a bonanza on Ocean City by cutting Fenwick, the island on which its sits, in two, offering new, easy access to oceangoing boats
-- "Shifting Sands", Washington Post, July 11, 1999

Example Sentences:

Nature has bestowed many gifts on the earth that need to be treated with respect.
-- Brought to you by the 3rd Generation Prius

Bestow comes down to us from the Middle English bistowen, from bi-, be- + stowen, to place, to stow.