widow

English

Etymology

From Middle English widwe, from Old English widuwe, from Proto-West Germanic *widuwā, from Proto-Germanic *widuwǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁widʰéwh₂, possibly from *weydʰ-, *widʰ- (“to separate, split, cleave, divide”), whence also wood from Old English widu, wudu. Cognates include German Witwe, Dutch weduwe, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍅𐍉 (widuwō), Old Irish fedb, Latin vidua, Old Church Slavonic въдова (vŭdova), and Sanskrit विधवा (vidhavā).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɪ.dəʊ/
• IPA^(key): /ˈwɪ.doʊ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪdəʊ
• Hyphenation: wid‧ow

Noun

widow (plural widows)

1. A woman whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried); feminine of widower.
2. (uncommon) A person whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried).
   • 2016, Traciy Reyes, "‘The Wedding March’: Hallmark Movie — June Bride Unwittingly Hires Wedding Singer Who Is Her Ex, Starring Josie Bissett, Jack Wagner", The Inquisitr News, June 23, 2016.

     Now that he is a widow, he tries to win Olivia back through the songs and the music that brought them together all those years ago, leaving Olivia torn between moving forward with Josh or falling into the arms of the man she truly loves.

3. (informal, in combination) A woman whose husband is often away pursuing a sport, etc.
   • 1988, Emily Parry, "For a Bowling Widow, a Split Isn't Just Two Lonely Pins", New York Times, November 27, 1988.

     I had been feeling like a bowling-alley widow, but knew he loved the game, so I suggested we join a mixed league.

4. (card games) An additional hand of cards dealt face down in some card games, to be used by the highest bidder.
5. (printing) A single line of type that ends a paragraph, carried over to the next page or column.
6. A venomous spider, of the genus Latrodectus.

Derived terms

Terms derived from widow (noun)

• black widow
• golf widow

• grass widow

• widow bird
• widow-maker

Related terms

• widowed
• widower
• widowhood

Translations

woman whose spouse has died

• Afrikaans: weduwee
• Albanian: ve (sq) f
• Arabic: أَرْمَلَة f (ʔarmala)

  Egyptian Arabic: أرملة f (ʾarmila)

• Armenian: այրի (hy) (ayri)
• Aromanian: veduã f, veduvã f
• Asturian: viuda f
• Azerbaijani: dul (az)
• Bashkir: тол (tol), тол ҡатын (tol qatın)
• Basque: alargun (eu)
• Belarusian: удава́ f (udavá), ўдава́ f (ŭdavá)
• Breton: intañvez (br) f
• Bulgarian: вдови́ца f (vdovíca)
• Burmese: မုဆိုးမ (my) (mu.hcui:ma.)
• Catalan: vidu m or f
• Central Melanau: jabul
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 寡婦／寡妇 (zh), 寡妇 (zh) (guǎfù)

• Chukchi: ӄликвъильын (qlikvʺilʹyn)
• Czech: vdova (cs)
• Danish: enke (da) c
• Dutch: weduwe (nl) f
• Egyptian: (ẖꜣrt f)
• Erzya: дова (dova)
• Esperanto: vidvino (eo)
• Estonian: lesk (et)
• Ewe: ahosi
• Faroese: einkja f
• Finnish: leski (fi)
• French: veuve (fr) f
• Friulian: vedue f
• Galician: viúva f
• Georgian: ქვრივი (kvrivi)
• German: Witwe (de) f
• Greek: χήρα (el) f (chíra)

  Ancient Greek: χήρα f (khḗra)

• Haitian Creole: vèv
• Hebrew: אַלְמָנָה (he) f (almaná)
• Hindi: विधवा (hi) f (vidhvā), वीडो f (vīḍo)
• Hungarian: özvegy (hu), özvegyasszony (hu)
• Iban: balu
• Icelandic: ekkja (is) f
• Ido: vidvino (io)
• Indonesian: janda (id),
• Iranun: balu
• Irish: baintreach f

  Middle Irish: baintrebthach f

  Old Irish: fedb f

• Istriot: viduva f
• Italian: vedova (it) f
• Japanese: 寡婦 (ja) (やもめ, yamome), 未亡人 (みぼうじん, mibōjin), 後家 (ごけ, goke)
• Javanese: randha (jv)
• Kazakh: жесір әйел (jesır äiel), тұл әйел (tūl äiel), тұл жесір (tūl jesır)
• Khmer: ស្ត្រីមេម៉ាយ (strəy mee maay)
• Korean: 홀어미 (ko) (horeomi), 과부 (ko) (gwabu) (寡婦 (ko))
• Kyrgyz: жесир аял (jesir ayal)
• Lao: ແມ່ໝ້ (mǣ ma)
• Latin: vidua f
• Latvian: atraitne f
• Lithuanian: našlė f
• Livonian: lešknai, atrāitanai
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: вдовица f (vdovica)
• Malagasy: mpananotena (mg)
• Malay: janda, balu
• Maltese: armla f
• Maori: pouaru, takahore
• Marathi: विद्वा (vidvā)
• Mongolian: бэлэвсэн эхнэр (belevsen exner)
• Navajo: asdzání bahastiin daaztsánígíí
• Norman: veuve f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: enke (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: enkje f

• Occitan: veusa (oc) f
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: въдова f (vŭdova)

  Glagolitic: ⰲⱏⰴⱁⰲⰰ f (vŭdova)

• Old English: widuwe f
• Old Norse: (Eastern dialect) ænkia, (Western dialect) ekkia
• Oriya: ନିସଙ୍ଗ ଧାଡ଼ି (nisaṅga dhāṛi)
• Ossetian: идӕдз ус (idæʒ us)
• Pashto: کونډه f (kwǝ́nḍa), باربلېزه f (bārbelíza)
• Persian: بیوه (fa) (bive)
• Polish: wdowa (pl) f
• Portuguese: viúva (pt) f
• Quechua: ikma
• Romanian: văduvă (ro) f
• Russian: вдова́ (ru) f (vdová), вдови́ца (ru) f (vdovíca) (obsolete)
• Sanskrit: विधवा (sa) f (vidhavā)
• Sardinian: fiuda f
• Scots: weedae, weedae-wife
• Scottish Gaelic: banntrach f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: у̀дова f, удо̀вица f

  Roman: ùdova (sh) f, udòvica (sh) f

• Sicilian: vìduva (scn) f, vìdua (scn) f
• Slovak: vdova (sk) f
• Slovene: vdova (sl) f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: hudowa f

  Upper Sorbian: wudowa f

• Spanish: viuda (es) f
• Swahili: mjane (sw)
• Swedish: änka (sv) c
• Tajik: бева (beva)
• Talysh: ویوه‌ژن (viva-žen)
• Tamil: விதவை (ta) (vitavai)
• Thai: แม่ม่าย (mɛ̂ɛ-mâai), แม่หม้าย (mɛ̂ɛ-mâai)
• Turkish: dul (tr)
• Turkmen: dul aýal, dul zenan
• Ukrainian: вдова́ (uk) f (vdová), удова́ f (udová), вдови́ця (uk) f (vdovýcja) (obsolete), удови́ця f (udovýcja) (obsolete)
• Urdu: بیوہ f (bīva), ویڈو f (vīḍo)
• Uzbek: tul (uz), beva (uz)
• Venetian: védoa f
• Vietnamese: quả phụ (vi) (寡婦)
• Volapük: jiviudan (vo)
• Votic: lehtši
• Welsh: gweddw (cy) f
• West Coast Bajau: baau, pituanun
• West Frisian: widdo
• Yiddish: אַלמנה f (almone), אַלמאָנע f (almone)
• Yup'ik: aipaineq
• Yámana: šupun-kipa

person whose spouse has died

• Armenian: այրի (hy) (ayri)
• Estonian: lesk (et)
• Ido: vidvo (io)
• Malagasy: maty vady
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Quechua: ikma
• Scottish Gaelic: banntrach m or f
• Volapük: viudan (vo)

woman whose husband is often away

• Czech: slaměná vdova (cs) f
• Finnish: leski (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Slovak: slamená vdova (sk)
• Swahili: mjane (sw)
• Swedish: gräsänka (sv) c

card games: additional hand dealt face down

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

single line of type carried over to the next page

• Breton: intañvez (br) f, linenn intañvez f
• Danish: horeunge c
• Dutch: weduwe (nl) f
• Finnish: leskirivi
• German: Hurenkind (de) n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: özvegysor
• Japanese: 孤立行 (koritsu gyō), ウィドー (widō)
• Russian: вися́чая строка́ f (visjáčaja stroká)
• Swahili: mjane (sw)

spider of the genus Latrodectus

• Finnish: Latrodectus; mustaleski (fi) (Latrodectus mactans)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Verb

widow (third-person singular simple present widows, present participle widowing, simple past and past participle widowed)

1. (transitive) To make a widow or widower of someone; to cause the death of the spouse of.
2. (transitive, figurative) To strip of anything valued.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To endow with a widow's right.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To be widow to.

Translations

to make a widow or widower

• Hebrew: אִלְמֵן (he) (ilmén)
• Maori: whakapouaru
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: enviudar (es)