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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.

Words related to dowager

matron, matriarch, widow

Words nearby dowager

dow jones industrial average, dow metal, dow-jones average, dow., dowable, dowager, dowager's hump, dowden, dowding, dowdy, dowel

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
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples 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