grass widow

noun

a woman who is separated, divorced, or lives apart from her husband.

a woman whose husband is away from home frequently or for a long time, as on business or to pursue a sport or hobby.

Archaic.

a discarded mistress.
a woman who has borne an illegitimate child.

Nearby words

grass sorghum, grass sponge, grass style, grass tree, grass up, grass widow, grass widower, grass, günter, grass-green, grass-of-parnassus, grasscutter

Origin of grass widow

1520–30; the first element perhaps orig. alluding to a bed of grass, hay, or the like; compare Dutch grasweduwe, German Strohwittwe literally, straw-widow

Related forms

grass·wid·ow·hood, noun

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

Examples from the Web for grass widow

He had had nothing from her except friendship and girlish romance and a grass-widow's belated affection.
We Can't Have Everything|Rupert Hughes
But she did not fancy Simla in the season as a grass-widow, and had had quite enough of being alone.
Forty-one years in India|Frederick Sleigh Roberts
By gum, Mosey, I'd marry a grass-widow with a second-hand family before I'd do my own cooking.
The Wizard's Daughter and Other Stories|Margaret Collier Graham
Samuel could not imagine his grass-widow, Mrs. De Ferriac, causing any very righteous blows on her own account.
Flappers and Philosophers|F. Scott Fitzgerald

My Lyddy does not care about being a grass-widow, gentlemen.
The Silent House|Fergus Hume

British Dictionary definitions for grass widow

grass widow

noun

a woman divorced, separated, or living away from her spouse

a woman whose spouse is regularly away for short periods

Word Origin for grass widow

C16, meaning a discarded mistress: perhaps an allusion to a grass bed as representing an illicit relationship; compare bastard; C19 in the modern sense

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

Idioms and Phrases with grass widow

grass widow

A woman who is separated from her husband, either by divorce or temporary absence. For example, She's a grass widow these days, with Herb traveling to golf tournaments all over the country. The expression dates from the 16th century, when it referred to the mother of an illegitimate child, grass presumably alluding to the open-air setting of the child's conception.