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widow - 8 dictionary results
wid⋅ow
[wid-oh] 
–noun
| 1. | a woman who has lost her husband by death and has not remarried. |
| 2. | Cards. an additional hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table. |
| 3. | Printing.
|
| 4. | a woman often left alone because her husband devotes his free time to a hobby or sport (used in combination). Compare golf widow. |
–verb (used with object)
| 5. | to make (someone) a widow: She was widowed by the war. |
| 6. | to deprive of anything cherished or needed: A surprise attack widowed the army of its supplies. |
| 7. | Obsolete.
|
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME wid(e)we, OE widuwe, wydewe; c. G Witwe, Goth widuwo, L vidua (fem. of viduus bereaved), Skt vidhavā widow; (v.) ME, deriv. of the n.
bef. 900; (n.) ME wid(e)we, OE widuwe, wydewe; c. G Witwe, Goth widuwo, L vidua (fem. of viduus bereaved), Skt vidhavā widow; (v.) ME, deriv. of the n.
Related forms:
wid⋅ow⋅ly, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To widow
| wid·ow (wĭd'ō) n.
To make a widow or widower of. [Middle English widewe, from Old English widuwe.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Widow
Wid"ow\, n. (Card Playing) In various games, any extra hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table.Widow
Wid"ow\, n. [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. vidhav[=a]; and probably to Skr. vidh to be empty, to lack; cf. Gr. ? a bachelor. ????. Cf. Vidual.] 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 (Zo["o]l.), the macavahu. Widow monkey (Zo["o]l.), 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.Widow
Wid"ow\, a. Widowed. "A widow woman." --1 Kings xvii. 9. "This widow lady." --Shak.Widow
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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : widow
Spanish:
viuda,
German:
die Witwe,
Japanese:
未亡人
widow
O.E. widewe, widuwe, from P.Gmc. *widewo (cf. O.S. widowa, O.Fris. widwe, M.Du., Du. weduwe, Du. weeuw, O.H.G. wituwa, Ger. Witwe, Goth. widuwo), from PIE adj. *widhewo (cf. Skt. vidhuh "lonely, solitary," vidhava "widow;" Avestan vithava, L. vidua, O.C.S. vidova, Rus. vdova, O.Ir. fedb, Welsh guedeu "widow;" Pers. beva, Gk. eitheos "unmarried man;" L. viduus "bereft, void"), from base *weidh- "to separate" (cf. second element in L. di-videre "to divide;" see with). As a prefix to a name, attested from 1576. Meaning "short line of type" (especially at the top of a column) is 1904 print shop slang. The verb is attested from c.1300. Widower is first attested 1362. Widow's mite is from Mark xii.43. Widow's peak is from the belief that hair growing to a point on the forehead is an omen of early widowhood, suggestive of the "peak" of a widow's hood. Widow maker "anything lethally dangerous" first recorded 1945, originally among loggers, in reference to dead trees, etc. The widow bird (1747) so-called in ref. to the long black tail feathers of the males, suggestive of widows' veils.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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widow
see grass widow.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
