In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
WIDOW
widow, widow woman
(noun) a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
widow
(verb) cause to be without a spouse; “The war widowed many women in the former Yugoslavia”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
widow (plural widows)
A woman whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried); feminine of widower.
(uncommon) A person whose spouse has died (and who has not remarried).
(informal, in combination) A woman whose husband is often away pursuing a sport, etc.
(card games) An additional hand of cards dealt face down in some card games, to be used by the highest bidder.
(printing) A single line of type that ends a paragraph, carried over to the next page or column.
A venomous spider, of the genus Latrodectus.
Verb
widow (third-person singular simple present widows, present participle widowing, simple past and past participle widowed)
(transitive) To make a widow or widower of someone; to cause the death of the spouse of.
(transitive, figurative) To strip of anything valued.
(transitive, obsolete) To endow with a widow's right.
(transitive, obsolete) To be widow to.
Source: Wiktionary
Wid"ow, n. Etym: [OE. widewe, widwe, AS. weoduwe, widuwe, wuduwe; akin to OFries. widwe, OS. widowa, D. weduwe, G. wittwe, witwe, OHG. wituwa, witawa, Goth. widuw, Russ. udova, OIr. fedb, W. gweddw, L. vidua, Skr. vidhava; and probably to Skr. vidh to be empty, to lack; cf. Gr. Vidual.]
Definition: A woman who has lost her husband by death, and has not married again; one living bereaved of a husband. "A poor widow." Chaucer. Grass widow. See under Grass.
– Widow bewitched, a woman separated from her husband; a grass widow. [Colloq.] Widow-in-mourning (Zoöl.), the macavahu.
– Widow monkey (Zoöl.), a small South American monkey (Callithrix lugens); -- so called on account of its color, which is black except the dull whitish arms, neck, and face, and a ring of pure white around the face.
– Widow's chamber (Eng. Law), in London, the apparel and furniture of the bedchamber of the widow of a freeman, to which she was formerly entitled.
Wid"ow, a.
Definition: Widowed. "A widow woman." 1 Kings xvii. 9. "This widow lady." Shak.
Wid"ow, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Widowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Widowing.]
1. To reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a husband; -- rarely used except in the past participle. Though in thus city he Hath widowed and unchilded many a one, Which to this hour bewail the injury. Shak.
2. To deprive of one who is loved; to strip of anything beloved or highly esteemed; to make desolate or bare; to bereave. The widowed isle, in mourning, Dries up her tears. Dryden. Tress of their shriveled fruits Are widowed, dreary storms o'er all prevail. J. Philips. Mourn, widowed queen; forgotten Sion, mourn. Heber.
3. To endow with a widow's right. [R.] Shak.
4. To become, or survive as, the widow of. [Obs.] Let me be married to three kings in a forenoon, and widow them all. Shak.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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Word of the Day
24 March 2025
STACCATO
(adjective) (music) marked by or composed of disconnected parts or sounds; cut short crisply; “staccato applause”; “a staccato command”; “staccato notes”
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