dowager

[dou-uh-jer]

SEE MORE 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.

RELATED WORDS

matron, matriarch, widow

Nearby words

Origin of dowager

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

Related formsdow·a·ger·ism, noun

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

Examples from the Web for dowager

When I tell her that Clooney is rumored to also kiss the Dowager Countess during the episode, she chuckles.
Elizabeth McGovern on the ‘Downton Abbey’ Xmas Album and Lady Grantham’s Kiss with George Clooney|Marlow Stern|November 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Vacations are as mysterious to me as weekends are to the Dowager Countess of Grantham.
One First-Timer’s Adventures in Culebra and Puerto Rico|Kara Cutruzzula|March 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He called up his mother, the dowager countess, and asked her to come over and look after the children.
Lord Lucan’s Whereabouts: The Tabloid Rebirth of a Decades-Old Crime|William Coles|February 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The Dowager Empress came to Kiev to-day to visit a convent that she has under her protection.
Trapped in 'Black Russia'|Ruth Pierce

This family consistent of a dowager Lady Conway, her son and daughter.
The Catholic World; Vol. IV.; October, 1866, to March, 1867.|E. Rameur
Fancy how changed the dowager was when she now was anxious to force money on one unwilling to receive it!
Caught in a Trap|John C. Hutcheson
"We of Washington are unfortunately situated in that respect," said the dowager.
The Gilded Age, Complete|Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner
Dorothy took the dowager's hand and looked down earnestly and affectionately into her upturned gaze.
The Vanity Girl|Compton Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for dowager

dowager

noun

a widow possessing property or a title obtained from her husband
(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

Word Origin and History for dowager

dowager

1520s, from Middle French douagere "widow with a dower" literally "pertaining to a dower," from douage "dower," from douer "endow," from Latin dotare, from dos (genitive dotis) "dowry" (see dowry).