widow

[wid-oh]

noun

1. a woman who has lost her spouse by death and has not remarried.

2. Cards.,  an additional hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table.

3. Printing.

   1. a short last line of a paragraph, especially one less than half of the full measure or one consisting of only a single word.

   2. the last line of a paragraph when it is carried over to the top of the following page away from the rest of the paragraph.

4. a woman often left alone because her husband devotes his free time to a hobby or sport (used in combination).

verb (used with object)

widowed, widowing 

1. to make (someone) a widow.

   She was widowed by the war.

2. to deprive of anything cherished or needed.

   A surprise attack widowed the army of its supplies.

3. Obsolete.

   1. to endow with a widow's right.

   2. to survive as the widow of.

widow

/ ˈwɪdəʊ /

noun

1. a woman who has survived her husband, esp one who has not remarried

2. informal,  (usually with a modifier) a woman whose husband frequently leaves her alone while he indulges in a sport, etc

   a golf widow

3. printing a short line at the end of a paragraph, esp one that occurs as the top line of a page or column Compare orphan

4. (in some card games) an additional hand or set of cards exposed on the table

verb

1. to cause to become a widow or a widower

2. to deprive of something valued or desirable

Other Word Forms

• widowly adjective
• widowhood noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of widow¹

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English wid(e)we, Old English widuwe, wydewe; cognate with German Witwe, Gothic widuwo, Latin vidua (feminine of viduus “bereaved”), Sanskrit vidhavā “widow”; (verb) Middle English, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of widow¹

Old English widuwe; related to German Witwe, Latin vidua (feminine of viduus deprived), Sanskrit vidhavā

Idioms and Phrases

see grass widow.

Example Sentences

As a widowed father, the clutter built up as Craig focused on raising the girls as a single parent.

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The lawyer for Lim Kimya's widow told news agency AFP that she was "probably satisfied" with Friday's verdict, though she was "still questioning who ordered the crime".

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Astonished by what she had learned at the hospital meeting, Mr Philip's widow, Melissa Cockburn, posted a message on social media asking other families who had been contacted by the Freeman to get in touch.

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The activist’s widow, Erika Kirk, was greeted with pyrotechnics as she came on stage.

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A father who was left widowed with seven young children has said sharing his story of "brokenness and grief" after losing his wife is helping others.

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