widow

[wid-oh]

noun

1. a woman who has lost her spouse by death and has not remarried.

2. Cards.,  an additional hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table.

3. Printing.

   1. a short last line of a paragraph, especially one less than half of the full measure or one consisting of only a single word.

   2. the last line of a paragraph when it is carried over to the top of the following page away from the rest of the paragraph.

4. a woman often left alone because her husband devotes his free time to a hobby or sport (used in combination).

verb (used with object)

widowed, widowing 

1. to make (someone) a widow.

   She was widowed by the war.

2. to deprive of anything cherished or needed.

   A surprise attack widowed the army of its supplies.

3. Obsolete.

   1. to endow with a widow's right.

   2. to survive as the widow of.

widow

/ ˈwɪdəʊ /

noun

1. a woman who has survived her husband, esp one who has not remarried

2. informal,  (usually with a modifier) a woman whose husband frequently leaves her alone while he indulges in a sport, etc

   a golf widow

3. printing a short line at the end of a paragraph, esp one that occurs as the top line of a page or column Compare orphan

4. (in some card games) an additional hand or set of cards exposed on the table

verb

1. to cause to become a widow or a widower

2. to deprive of something valued or desirable

Other Word Forms

• widowhood noun
• widowly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of widow¹

First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English wid(e)we, Old English widuwe, wydewe; cognate with German Witwe, Gothic widuwo, Latin vidua (feminine of viduus “bereaved”), Sanskrit vidhavā “widow”; (verb) Middle English, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of widow¹

Old English widuwe; related to German Witwe, Latin vidua (feminine of viduus deprived), Sanskrit vidhavā

Idioms and Phrases

see grass widow.

Example Sentences

His widow, whom I’ve considered my grandmother since birth, told us that the money was used to cover my grandfather’s significant medical debt.

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My mom, a widow, lives alone in our family home.

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"Raila hated dishonesty. He hated greed. The greed that has affected the fabric of our society," said Ida, Odinga's widow, in her speech.

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But the president said he didn’t “have the courage” to ask his widow to reschedule the ceremony because it was timed to coincide with what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday.

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Don’t miss: My uncle’s widow is threatening to sue me.

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