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
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "RP" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈwɪ.dəʊ/
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "GA" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈwɪ.doʊ/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪdəʊ
- Hyphenation: wid‧ow
Noun
widow (plural widows)
- A woman whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried); feminine of widower.
- (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.
- 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.
- (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.
- 1988, Emily Parry, "For a Bowling Widow, a Split Isn't Just Two Lonely Pins", New York Times, November 27, 1988.
- (card games) An additional hand of cards dealt face down in some card games, to be used by the highest bidder.
- (printing) A single line of type that ends a paragraph, carried over to the next page or column.
- A venomous spider, of the genus Latrodectus.
Derived terms
Terms derived from widow (noun)
Related terms
Translations
woman whose spouse has died
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person whose spouse has died
woman whose husband is often away
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card games: additional hand dealt face down
single line of type carried over to the next page
spider of the genus Latrodectus
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Verb
widow (third-person singular simple present widows, present participle widowing, simple past and past participle widowed)
- (transitive) To make a widow or widower of someone; to cause the death of the spouse of.
- (transitive, figurative) To strip of anything valued.
- (transitive, obsolete) To endow with a widow's right.
- (transitive, obsolete) To be widow to.
Translations
to make a widow or widower
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Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɪdəʊ
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with uncommon senses
- English informal terms
- en:Card games
- en:Printing
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Death
- en:Female
- en:People