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dowager

[ dou-uh-jer ]
/ ˈdaʊ ə dʒər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR dowager ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a woman who holds some title or property from her deceased husband, especially the widow of a king, duke, etc. (often used as an additional title to differentiate her from the wife of the present king, duke, etc.): a queen dowager; an empress dowager.
an elderly woman of stately dignity, especially one of elevated social position: a wealthy dowager.

adjective

noting, pertaining to, or characteristic of a dowager: the dowager duchess; to prefer a dowager style of dress.

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Origin of dowager

1520–30; <Middle French douag(i)ere, equivalent to douage dower (see endow, -age) + -iere, feminine of -ier-ier2

OTHER WORDS FROM dowager

dow·a·ger·ism, noun

Words nearby dowager

dovetail saw, dovish, Dovzhenko, dow, dowable, dowager, dowager's hump, Dowden, Dowding, dowdy, dowel
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to dowager

matron, matriarch, widow

Example sentences from the Web for dowager

British Dictionary definitions for dowager

dowager
/ (ˈdaʊədʒə) /

noun

  1. a widow possessing property or a title obtained from her husband
  2. (as modifier)the dowager duchess
a wealthy or dignified elderly woman

Word Origin for dowager

C16: from Old French douagiere, from douage dower
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012