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.

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. 2018

Related Words for dowager

matron, matriarch, widow

Examples from the Web for dowager

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
She went from dominatrix to dowager, swapping her D & Gs for sensible brogues, her sexy leather and lace for tweeds and twin sets.
Why Madge Got Bored
Andrew Morton
October 15, 2008

Historical Examples of dowager

I promise you I will,' said the dowager—'here, take the rod!'
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
The two countesses had no outlines at all, and the dowager's was a demd outline.
The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby
Charles Dickens
"I dote on 'em," comes back the Dowager, and "my daughter" owned up that she "adored" 'em.
Cape Cod Stories
Joseph C. Lincoln
The Dowager and "my daughter" left that dinner table trembling all over.
Cape Cod Stories
Joseph C. Lincoln
Milo and Eddie, backed by the Dowager and the Duchess, done the real fishing.
Cape Cod Stories
Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for dowager

dowager

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

Word Origin and History for 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).