widower

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English widwer, equivalent to widow +‎ -er.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈwɪdoʊɚ/
  • (file)

Noun[edit]

widower (plural widowers)

  1. A man whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried); a man in relation to his late spouse; masculine of widow. [from 14th c.]
    • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, [], →OCLC, Canto XIII, page 20:
      Tears of the widower, when he sees
      ⁠A late-lost form that sleep reveals,
      ⁠And moves his doubtful arms, and feels
      Her place is empty, fall like these; […]
    • 1988 April 2, Lori Kenschaft, “Film on lovers of PWAs in works”, in Gay Community News, page 6:
      What happens to the lovers of people with AIDS? How do they experience the passage from lover to caregiver to "widower"?

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

References[edit]