WIDOWED

widowed

(adjective) single because of death of the spouse

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Adjective

widowed (not comparable)

(of a previously married person) Whose spouse has died or is gone missing; who has become a widow or widower.

Verb

widowed

simple past tense and past participle of widow

Source: Wiktionary


WIDOW

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

11 February 2025

ALEWIFE

(noun) shad-like food fish that runs rivers to spawn; often salted or smoked; sometimes placed in genus Pomolobus


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Coffee Trivia

In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.

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