widow

widow (wid′ō)

noun

a woman who has outlived the man to whom she was married at the time of his death; esp., such a woman who has not remarried
☆ Card Games a number of cards dealt into a separate pile, typically for the use of the highest bidder
Printing an incomplete line, as that ending a paragraph, carried over to the top of a new page or column: generally avoided by rewriting copy to eliminate the line or fill it out
☆ Informal a woman whose husband is often away indulging in a specified hobby, sport, etc. a golf widow

Etymology: ME widwe < OE widewe, akin to Ger witwe, L vidua < IE *widhewo-, separated < base *weidh-, to separate: see divide

transitive verb

to cause to become a widow or widower: usually in the past participle widowed by the war

wid′·ow·hood′ noun

surviving wife, relict, dowager, husbandless wife, dead man's wife, widow woman*, sod widow*, grass widow*, mantrap*; see also survivor, wife.

Converse of object

marry: At the age of twenty-five he was asked to marry a wealthy widow called ' Khadija ' who was forty years old.
grieve: Sibella takes the witness stand and gives a touching performance as the grieving widow.
devour: They devour widows ' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.
bereave: Development of theory The following is an extract from an interview with bereaved widows.
oppress: Who is going to wipe the tears of the oppressed widows?
leave: He leaves a widow, Doreen, to whom we offer our deepest sympathy.

Adjective modifier

childless: After ten years the father and sons died leaving three childless widows.
wealthy: At the age of twenty-five he was asked to marry a wealthy widow called ' Khadija ' who was forty years old.
poor: They were to be occupied by six poor widows who were members of the Church of England.
married: Joan Bird writes: Samuel's brother Thomas was a pork butcher and married widow, Thirza Bradley in Birmingham in 1844.

Modifies a noun

spider: The female black widow spider often eats the male after mating.
Mrs: On 2 May 1866 Hanley married his third wife, the widow Mrs Eleanor Hopkins ( nee Tilbury ), at Hampstead, London.
pension: The ongoing income of a contribution based benefit such as widows pension is thus an important safeguard.

Noun used with modifier

war: Two situations there stand out - we met with some war widows.

Possessives

widower: The widow's, widower 's or civil partner's pension is payable at the rate of one-half of your deferred pension.
mite: The tale of the widow's mite springs to mind.
pension: The benefits eg a widow's pension are often worth preserving.

Possessives

brother: One of his first acts as king was to marry his brother's widow, Catherine of Aragon.

Preposition: of

clergyman: Unfortunately, the message was delivered to the widow of the clergyman.

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