dow·a·ger

[dou-uh-jer]
noun
1.
a woman who holds some title or property from her deceased husband, especially the widow of a king, duke, etc. (often used as an additional title to differentiate her from the wife of the present king, duke, etc.): a queen dowager; an empress dowager.
2.
an elderly woman of stately dignity, especially one of elevated social position: a wealthy dowager.
adjective
3.
noting, pertaining to, or characteristic of a dowager: the dowager duchess; to prefer a dowager style of dress.

Origin:
1520–30; < Middle French douag(i)ere, equivalent to douage dower (see endow, -age) + -iere, feminine of -ier -ier2

dow·a·ger·ism, noun
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World English Dictionary
dowager (ˈdaʊədʒə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a.  a widow possessing property or a title obtained from her husband
 b.  (as modifier): the dowager duchess
2.  a wealthy or dignified elderly woman
 
[C16: from Old French douagiere, from douagedower]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Dowager is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dowager
1530, from M.Fr. douagere "pertaining to a dower," from douage "dower," from douer "endow," from L. dotare, from dos (gen. dotis) "dowry" (see dowry).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Yellow silk was worn only by the emperor, empress, or empress dowager.
Recipe for banishing dowager empresses- first catch your empress.
Or, in the case of its original guesthouses, the empress dowager.
Left unattended, many fractures can result in an exaggerated rounded curvature of the spine, called kyphosis or dowager's hump.
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