▪ I. widow, n.1
(ˈwɪdəʊ)
Forms: α. 1 widuwe, 1–5 widewe, wydewe, 1, 4 widwe, 3 (Orm.) widdwe, 3–6 widue, 4 widu (pl. widuen, -uus, -us), wydw, pl. widos, 4–5 wydue, wydwe, 4–6 wydow(e, Sc. widou, 4–7 widowe, 5 wydew, wyddo, widw, 5–6 wydo, 5 (6 Sc.) vidue, 6 wyddow(e, (vidoy), Sc. vidow, -ou(e, 6–7 widdowe, 7–8 widdow, 9 dial. or vulgar widda, widder, widdy, 4– widow. β. 1 weodewe, 4 Sc. wedoue, vedo, 4–5 wedewe, wedu, 4–6 wedew, wedow, wedou, 5 wedw(e, wedue, Sc. wedeu, wedaw, 5 (6 Sc.) wedo, 5–6 wedowe, weddow(e, (6 wedoo, Sc. vedou, weido, gen. wedvis). γ. 1 wudewe, -uwe, 4 wodow, 4–5 wodewe (4 pl. -en, -on).
[OE. widewe, widuwe, wuduwe wk. fem. = OFris. widwe (Fris. weduwe, widewia, wudu), OS. widowa (MLG., LG. wedewe, -uwe, MDu. weduwe, -ewe, Du. weduw(e, weeuw), OHG. wituwa, -awa, (MHG. witewe, G. wittwe), Goth. widuwô: orig. an Indo-European adj. formation *widhewo-, -wā on the base widh- to be empty, be separated (Skr. vidh to be destitute, lack, cf. L. dī-videre to divide); cf. Skr. vidhavā widow, Pers. bēva, Gr. ἠίθεος unmarried man, L. viduus bereft, void, widowed (fem. vidua widow, whence F. veuve, It. vedova, Sp. viuda, Pg. viuva), OPruss. widdewu, OSl. vĭdova (Russ. vdova), W. gweddw, OIr. fedb, Cornish guedeu.]
1. a. A woman whose husband is dead (and who has not married again); a wife bereaved of her husband.
hempen widow: see hempen a. 1 b.
| α c 825 Vesp. Ps. cviii[i]. 9 Sien bearn his asteapte & wif his widwe. c 1100 O.E. Chron. (MS. D) an. 975 [Hi] wydewan bestryþtan oft & ᵹelome. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 115 He scal biwerian widewan and steopbern. c 1200 Ormin 7998 An weppmann & an widdwe. a 1225 Ancr. R. 10 To helpen widewen & federlease children. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. 329/222 Ane holie wydewe. a 1300 Cursor M. 6787 Widues [Gött. Wydw; Fairf. widow; Trin. widewe] ne barns faderles Do yee na wrang. Ibid. 6793 Widus sall i mak your wifes. 1323 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1904) 1, I, Rose Wrytell, wydue, sumtyme the wyf of William ffayrstede, Clerk. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 5521 Many a wydewe þar was mad, And many child faderles. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 313 Al be she mayde or wydwe or elles wyf. c 1440 York Myst. xli. 61, I haue beyn a wyddo this threscore yere. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 32 A wydow þat het Drusyan, lay ded on bere. 1519–29 Lincoln Wills (1914) I. 81, I Jane scheffelde of Croxby vidoy. 1526 Tindale Matt. xxiii. 14 Ye devoure widdowes houses. ― Mark xii. 43 This povre widowe hath cast moare in, then all they which have caste into the treasury. 1533 Gau Richt Vay (S.T.S.) 68 Christ rasit wp ane vidous sone. 1540 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 127 If she kepe her widue..or if she forton to marie. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 222 Nathir soulde a Vidue be compelled a thousand pace ouer her awne dores to ansuer to the Lawes. Ibid. II. 240 Marie..vidow to the duik of Longouaile. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. ii. 233 Both heere, and hence, pursue me lasting strife, If once a Widdow, euer I be Wife. 1607 ― Cor. ii. i. 196 The Widowes..And Mothers that lacke Sonnes. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 168 The Cake that the Widdow gave to the Prophet. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xviii. II. 79 Constantia..remained the widow of the vanquished Licinius. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xx, Take example by your father, my boy, and be wery careful o' widders. 1877 Gilbert Sorcerer ii, No saucy minx and giddy..But a clean and tidy widdy. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 466 In Calabar..all the widows of a dead man are subjected to ordeal. |
| β c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) cxlv[i]. 8 [9] Þa elðeodiᵹan ealle Drihten lustum healdeð, and lif ᵹeofeð weodewum wencelum, he hiom wel onfehð. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints v. (Johannes) 226 Þat vedo can hym mene. Ibid. xxi. (Clement) 112 Þis wedou. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 433 Wedewis & nedy men. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3481 Wyues made wedowys, & wayling for euer. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour lxx, Maydenes and wedues. 1476 Exch. Rolls Scot. VIII. 344 note, Till oure pure wedeu and beidwoman Marioun of Corry. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxv. 34 Jonet the weido. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lx. 210 He dystroyeth..wedous & orphelyns. 1562 Winȝet Cert. Tractates §57 Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 112 Ȝoung wedowis quha had wowit continence. 1583 Leg. Bp. St. Androis 281 The sillie wedew. |
| γ c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke ii. 37 Heo wæs wudewe oð feower & hundeahtatiᵹ ᵹeara. Ibid. iv. 25 Maneᵹa wudewan wæron on helias daᵹum. 1340 Ayenb. 48 Þe þridde [kind of adultery] is of man sengle mid wodewe oþer aye⁓ward. Ibid. 225 Wodewehod..is a stat þet zaynte paul prayzeþ moche þet zayþ to wodewon [etc.]. c 1440 Gesta Rom. xliv. 172 (Harl. MS.), iij. wodewis wer I-left bihinde. |
b. Law.
king's widow: see
quot. 1607.
| 1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII c. 46. §25 The said maister..shalhave auctoritie by this acte to survey all the Kinges widowes..that have maried them selfis without the Kinges licence..for their reasonable fynes to be made to the Kinges use. 1607 Cowell Interpr. s.v., The widow of the King, or the Kings widow..is that widow, which after her husbands death being the Kings tenent in capite, is driuen to recouer her Dower by a writ De dote assignanda... It appeareth that other common Lords haue the same power ouer their widowes, touching their consent, in their mariage, that the King hath. |
c. Prefixed as a title to the name. Now chiefly
dial. or
vulgar.
| 1576 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 3) 1981/1 Widowe Swayne. 1610 Shakes. Temp. ii. i. 76 Not since widdow Dido's time. 1636 in Parish Bks. St. Julian's, Shrewsbury I. 20 (MS.) Received for a Restall of Widdow Crosse 6/8. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. viii, The Laird..was ashamed to tax too highly the miserable means of support which remained to the widow Butler. 1835 J. Poole Sk. & Recoll. I. 82 The cold and hot baths kept by Widow Sniggerston, No. 14, Market Square. 1882 Mrs. J. H. Riddell Pr. Wales's Gard.-Party ii, Once, when overtaken by a thunder-storm, she sought refuge in widow Harting's cottage. |
d. In extended sense: A wife separated from or deserted by her husband;
esp. in
colloq. or
dial. phr. a widow bewitched. Also in other allusive uses: see
quot. 1908,
college widow s.v. college n. 9 b,
grass widow.
| 1461 Paston Lett. Suppl. (1901) 74, I pray you socour my wif, for she is wedow yet for me. 1725 Bailey Erasm. Colloq. (1878) I. 259 Divorc'd from your Husband; a Widow, nay, to live, a Widow bewitcht, worse than a Widow. 1863 Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. xxxix, Who'd ha' thought of yo'r husband, him as was so slow and sure,..making a moonlight flitting, and leaving yo' to be a widow bewitched! 1901 ‘Zack’ Dunstable Weir 283 Martha Barnaby..was a widdy by will, her man bein' friendly to furren parts. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 29 June 2/2 Has Mr. Balfour never heard of the Golf Widow? The husband who goes away for a weekend to play golf may improve his health, but conceivably the wife..may feel it rather dull and lonely. 1952 W. M. Miller in Galaxy Nov. 153/1 It was different if the business-widow called on a couple. Then the lone male could retire. 1965 Guardian 30 July 10/5 One Scottish TA unit, aware of the dangers of creating ‘TA widows’ opens its bar on drill nights to wives and girl⁓friends. 1973 R. Busby Pattern of Violence ii. 32 You tell her to come and see me. We police widows have got to stick together. 1980 Financial Rev. (Austral.) 14 Jan. 8/2 Dick Smith's resident computer expert..said the keyboards, screens, printers and central processors are giving birth to a new social problem, ‘computer widows’. |
e. Eccl. One of a class or order of devout or consecrated widows in the Early Church (see
Acts ix. 39, 41).
Cf. Nonna, arwurþe wydwe (
MS. Bodl. 730 lf. 146 b,
c 1200).
| 1572 T. Cartwright Repl. Whitgift 153 Although there is not so great vse of these widowes with vs, as there was in those places where the churches were first founded,..yet..I conclude that (if such may be gotten) we ought also to kepe that order of widowes in the church still. 1587 [see widower1 2]. 1708 Bingham Orig. Eccles. ii. xxii. 315 The Council of Laodicea in the Eastern Church had forbidden them [sc. deaconesses] under the Name of ancient Widows or Governesses. 1709 J. Johnson Clergy-Man's Vade M. ii. 241 A Widow or Deaconess, must, according to St. Paul, be Sixty. 1862 Bp. Wordsworth Hymn, ‘Hark the sound of holy voices’ ii, Saintly Maiden, godly Matron, Widows who have watch'd to prayer. 1884 Catholic Dict. 611/2 The Church recognised..several classes of pious women, such as widows, deaconesses, hospitallers, Canonesses. |
f. transf. A female animal,
esp. a hen bird, that has lost its mate.
| c 1220 Bestiary 706 If hire make were ded, and ȝe widue wore. 1821–2 [see widow bird in 4 a]. 1878 Daily News 16 Sept. 3/1 ‘Widows’, alias old hens, are to be bought at a shilling each. |
g. fig.| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 187 Þe Chirche, þat is wydowe for þis tyme. c 1480 Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 455 For than gois bakwart to the syn agayn Oure appetite,..And makis reson wedow for to be. 1594 Sylvester Elegies, Monodia Wks. (Grosart) II. 330/1 Soon as ever the bright season-stinter Hath left her widow of his wonted raies. 1867 Lewes Hist. Philos. (ed. 3) II. iii. 98 Bruno wittily called Oxford the widow of sound learning—‘la vedova di buone lettere’. |
h. the Widow (of or at Windsor): a familiar epithet for Queen Victoria, whose husband predeceased her by forty years.
orig. chiefly
Services'.
| 1888 Kipling Private Learoyd's Story in Soldiers Three 14 They tell me t' Widdy herself is fond of a good dog. 1890 ― The Widow at Windsor in Barrack-Room Ballads (1892) 39 Then 'ere's to the Widow at Windsor, An' 'ere's to the stores an' the guns, The men an' the 'orses what makes up the forces O' Missis Victorier's sons. 1900 Captain III. 235/1 The design..shows the Queen as a widow—the ‘Widow of Windsor’. 1932 Times 12 Feb. 14/2 ‘The Widow’ (as we subalterns had irreverently nicknamed the Empress of India). 1964 E. Longford Victoria R.I. xxxvi. 562 She died just after half-past six... The famous ‘hush’ which had always surrounded ‘The Widow at Windsor’ was shattered. 1980 R. Hall Lovers on Nile xiv. 216 The ‘Widow of Windsor’ would feel herself justified in having ostracized Sam and Florence. |
2. a. A bird of the subfamily
Viduinæ:
= widow-bird.
mourning widow, a bird of the genus
Coliopasser belonging to this subfamily.
b. Collectors' name for a geometrid moth,
Cidaria luctuata: also
mourning widow.
c. mournful widow or
mourning widow, popular names of certain plants with dusky flowers: see
mournful 5,
mourning ppl. a. 3.
| 1747 Edwards Nat. Hist. Birds ii. 86 The Red-Breasted Long-Tailed Finch..from Angola in Africa... A Gentleman, who lately arrived from Lisbon, tells me the Portuguese call this Bird the Widow, from its Colour, and long Train. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Study Nat. (1799) I. 287 In the feathery race, the widow, the cardinal, &c{ddd}exhibit much more brilliant colouring, when the Sun approaches the Line. 1869–73 T. R. Jones Cassell's Bk. Birds I. 179 The Mourning Widows (Coliuspasser). |
3. Miscellaneous
colloq. or slang uses.
a. (See
quot. 1710, and
cf. widow's fire in 5.)
b. An extra hand dealt to the table in certain card-games.
c. the widow: champagne. [From ‘Veuve Cliquot’, the name of a firm of wine merchants.]
d. Typogr. A short line at the end of a paragraph,
esp. one which is set at the top of a page or column, or which contains only (part of) one word, and is therefore considered unsightly.
e. five-fingered (also dry-mouthed) widow, in
phrs. alluding to the act of masturbation.
slang (chiefly
Services').
| 1710 Brit. Apollo III. No. 91. 3/1 Fire expiring's call'd a Widow. 1781 Boswell Jrnl. 28 Apr. (1977) 333 He [sc. Lord Townshend] had called Sir Joshua, ‘Will you give us one cool bottle of claret?’ They were taking away the former. ‘No,’ said Lord Townshend, ‘Let us first take the widow.’ 1891 Hoffmann's Cycl. Card Games 204 Whiskey Poker... Five cards are..dealt to each player, with an extra hand, known as ‘the widow’. The elder hand may either play his own hand, pass, or take the widow. 1899 G. Boothby Red Rat's Dau. xvii, A good luncheon and a pint of the Widow to wash it down. [1904 Man. Rules Compositors S.S. McClure Co. 25 All running heads are to be set one nonpareil from the body, unless otherwise instructed. Care must be taken to overcome ‘rivers’, and to this end indiscriminate division of words is allowed. Care should also be exercised to overcome ‘widdies’ at the top of pages.] 1925 [see slug n.2 4 f]. 1932 P. Van D. Stern Introd. Typogr. ii. 15 When a single word runs over, it is often desirable to alter the copy..so that the words can be run back. Single words standing in a line are called ‘widows’. 1948 Bull. N.Y. Public Library Jan. 3 Early in 1936, H. M. Lydenberg..began a quiet, and not quite humorless, investigation into the origin and identity of the typographical ‘widow’, that awful slattern of the printed page. 1954 M. Laski in Author Winter 30/2 It is a common experience, when working for Vogue, to be asked to add a few words to a paragraph so as to avoid unsightly ‘widows’ or single-word lines. 1963 D. Ogilvy Confessions Advertising Man vii. 124 It has been discovered that ‘widows’ increase readership, except at the bottom of a column. 1971 B. W. Aldiss Soldier Erect 44 In there [sc. the ‘shithouse’], behind the stable-like door of one compartment or another, I went to a regular evening rendezvous with my dry-mouthed widow. 1975 C. Allen Plain Tales from Raj xv. 159 Many turned, as a last resort, to the ‘five-fingered widow’. 1980 B. Crutchley To be Printer 55 Our best customers were those who looked to us..to..print well, which meant avoiding ‘widows’. |
4. Combinations.
a. appositive (
= that is a widow), as
widow child,
widow duchess,
widow lady,
widow mother,
widow queen,
widow woman (the last now usually
arch. or
dial.); (in sense 1 f)
widow bird,
widow turtle.
b. attrib. Of or pertaining to a widow or widowhood, as
widow bed,
widow comfort,
widow dolour,
widow life,
widow night,
widow state; consisting of widows, as
widow-club.
c. objective, instrumental, etc., as
widow-burning (
= suttee 2),
widow-hunter,
widow-hunting,
widow-making;
widow-cursed adj.;
widow-like adj. and
adv. d. Special
Combs.:
widow church, a church without a bishop or pastor;
widow-duck, a species of tree-duck,
Dendrocygna viduata;
widow-finch = widow-bird;
widow flower = mourning widow (b) (
mourning ppl. a. 3):
cf. 2 c;
widow-maker, a killer or potential killer of men,
spec. (
a)
N. Amer. slang, a dead branch caught high in a tree which may fall on someone below; (
b)
slang [
tr. G.
witwemacher], a nickname for the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter strike and reconnaissance aircraft (see
quot. 1975); also (
U.S. Mil.), a grenade launcher;
widow-man dial. = widower1 1 a;
widow moth = 2 b;
widow right, that part of a deceased husband's estate to which a widow has a right. See also
widow-bird, -wail.
| 1650 Howell Giraffi's Rev. Naples i. 119 He commanded..the House of a *widow-Baker to be burnt. |
| 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iii. iv, O thou cold *widdowe bed, sometime thrice blest, By the warme pressure of my sleeping lord. |
| 1821–2 Shelley Chas. I, v. 4 A *widow bird sat mourning Upon a wintry bough. |
| 1856 Max Müller Chips (1868) II. 34 The custom of *widow-burning. |
| 1856 Aytoun Bothwell i. x, To claim the hand of Scotland's Queen, The *widow-child of France. |
| a 1759 A. Butler Lives of Saints (1836) I. 179 He..recommends himself and his *widow-church of Antioch to their prayers. |
| 1714 Addison Spect. No. 561 ¶1 A certain Female Cabal..who call themselves the *Widow-Club. |
| 1595 Shakes. John iii. iv. 105 My faire sonne,..My *widow-comfort, and my sorrowes cure. |
| 1614 Sylvester Parl. Vertues Royall 767 Hundred Laurels never *widow-curst. |
| 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, ii. ii. 65 Our fatherlesse distresse was left vnmoan'd, Your *widdow-dolour, likewise be vnwept. |
| 1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 8 Nov., The *widow Duchess will not stand to the will. |
| 1885 Riverside Nat. Hist. (1888) IV. 542 The vida-finches, often called *widow-finches. |
| 1882 Garden 11 Mar. 155/3 The purple Scabious..is known in some places by the name of the *Widow Flower. |
| 1714 Addison Spect. No. 561 ¶1 These unhappy gentlemen, who are commonly distinguished by the name of *widow-hunters. |
| 1853 R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour i. (1893) 8 With this popular sport he combined the diversion of *widow-hunting. |
| 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 548 How may we content This *widdow Lady? 1863 D. G. Mitchell Sev. Stor., My Farm of Edgewood 17 Another letter, from a widow lady. |
| 1625 in Halliw. Lett. Kings Eng. (1846) II. 236, I had rather live banished..with you, than live a sorrowful *widow-life without you. |
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xii. 22 She had layd her mournefull stole aside, And *widow-like sad wimple throwne away. 1706 Gardiner tr. Rapin's Gardens i. 351 Or Widowlike beneath a sable Veil, Her purest Lawn may artfully conceal. 1747 Richardson Clarissa IV. 120 She wrote such a widow-like refusal. 1839–52 Bailey Festus 439 This bosom..is burning for thee, though thy love be dead, Widow-like, on her lord's death-bier. |
| 1595 Shakes. John v. ii. 17 It grieues my soule, That I must draw this mettle from my side To be a *widdow-maker. 1906 Kipling Puck of Pook's Hill 67 What is a woman that you forsake her,..To go with the old grey Widow-maker [i.e. the sea]? 1945 M. H. Allee Smoke Jumper iv. 47 He remembered the Kid's caution about widow-makers, limbs falling from high overhead. 1965 M. McIntyre Place of Quiet Waters ix. 163 Now's the time to look out for widow-makers... Don't you go walking about in the woods when she's blowing like this. 1975 Times 26 Sept. 7/2 The loss of 178 aircraft in Germany earned it [sc. the Starfighter] the title of ‘Witwemacher’, or widow-maker. 1976 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 13 Feb. 4/4 They opened up with automatic rifle fire, a Browning machine-gun, and 66 anti-tank rockets, and a ‘widow-maker’—a grenade launcher. |
| 1657 Tomlinson Renou's Disp. 267 Mezereon is as much as viduifical, or *widow-making Plant. 1876 G. M. Hopkins Wreck of Deutschland xiii, in Poems (1967) 55 The widow-making unchilding unfathering deeps. |
| 1887 T. E. Brown Doctor & Other Poems 35 Sir John, it appears, Was a *widda man. 1946 C. McCullers Member of Wedding ii. 43 He was a widowman, for her mother had died the very day that she was born—and, as a widowman, set in his ways. |
| 1819 G. Samouelle Entomol. Compend. 363 *Widow moth. |
| a 1711 Ken Hymns Evang. Poet. Wks. 1721 I. 99 The Son for whom his *Widow-Mother groan'd. 1821 R. Pollok in D. Pollok Life iv. (1843) 87 A small house, inhabited by a widow-mother and an only daughter. 1937 C. Day Lewis Starting Point 36 Theo's getting as fussy as a widow-mother. |
| a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. v. (1912) 379 O *widow-nights, beare witnes with me of the difference. |
| 1690 Locke Govt. §123 Who has the paternal power whilst the *widow-queen is with child? |
| 1569 N. Country Wills (Surtees 1912) II. 55 After the *widowright of my wief. 1617–18 Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) II. 49 One third of my goodes, which is her widdow right. 1755 Johnson, To Widow, v. a... 2. To endow with a widow-right. |
| 1591–5 C'tess Pembroke Astrophel ii. 27 All the fields do waile their *widow state. |
| 1615 Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue iv. 318 So, on the wither'd Spray The *Widow-Turtle sighes her mournfull Lay. |
| 1649 Lovelace Lucasta etc. 99 Peason, Chickens, sawces high, Pig and the *Widdow-Venson-pye. 1382 Wyclif 2 Sam. xiv. 5 A womman widowe I am [1611 a widow woman; Vulg. mulier vidua]. |
| ― 1 Kings vii. 14 Yram, the sone of the *widowe womman [1611 a widowes sonne; Vulg. mulieris viduae]. Ibid. xvii. 9 A womman widowe [Douay 1609 a wydow woman]. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 101 ¶7 He lived as a Lodger at the House of a Widow-Woman. 1891 Hardy Tess xxix, ‘Not he, sir. Never meant to,’ replied the dairyman. ‘As I say, 'tis a widow-woman, and she had money, it seems—fifty poun' a year or so.’ 1889 ‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob iii. (1891) 41 Gay little widow woman that she was. |
5. Special collocations with the genitive:
widow's bench = free bench;
widow's chamber, the furniture of the bed-chamber, to which the widow of a freeman of the city of London was formerly entitled;
widow's cross, a name for a purple-flowered N. American species of stonecrop,
Sedum pulchellum;
widow's cruse fig. (with allusion to I Kings xvii. 12–16) [see
cruse], a supply which, though apparently meagre, is, or seems to be, inexhaustible;
widow's fire (see
quot., and
cf. 3 a);
widow's lock, a lock or tuft of hair growing apart from the rest, supposed to presage early widowhood;
widow's man, (
a) a man such as to attract widows; (
b)
Naut. one of a number of fictitious seamen whose names were formerly entered in the books of a ship's company, their pay being set apart for pensions;
widow's mite, a small money contribution (in allusion to Mark xii. 43; see
mite2 1 c);
widow's peak (see
peak n.2 1 f, and
cf. widow's lock);
widow's terce (see
terce 2);
widow's walk chiefly
N. Amer., a rectangular balustraded platform (characteristic of New England architectural styles in the 18th and 19th
cent.) built on top of the roof of a house,
esp. for providing an unimpeded view of the sea (see
quot. 1978);
widow's weeds, the mourning apparel of a widow (see
weed n.2 6 b).
| 1694 N. H. Ladies Dict. 468 *Widdows-bench [mispr. -benob]..Ss. [= Sussex] a share of their Husbands Estate, which they enjoy beside their joynture. |
| 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. xxxii. 518 Deducting the widow's apparel and furniture of her bed-chamber, which in London is called the *widow's chamber. |
| 1816 Scott Old Mort. in Tales My Landlord 1st Ser. IV. xii. 268 ‘Can you lodge a stranger for a night?’ ‘I can, sir, if he will be pleased with the widow's cake and the *widow's cruize.’ 1915 D. H. Lawrence Phoenix II (1968) 382 Wherein..is the immortality, in the constant occupation of the nest, the widow's cruse, or in the surpassing of the phoenix? 1977 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXV. 463/1 Information is infinitely reproducible without diminishing it: it is a veritable widow's cruse. |
| 1919 19th Cent. Dec. 1049 ‘*Widow's fire’—a fire on one side of the grate only. |
| a 1540 J. London in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. III. 132 Suche as..hadde any slottiche *wydowes lockes, viz. here growen to gether in a tufte. 1896 G. F. Northall Warw. Word-bk., Widow's-lock, a small lock or fringe growing apart from the hair above the forehead. Credulous persons believe that a girl so distinguished will become a widow soon after marriage. |
| 1749 Fielding Tom Jones iii. vi, As to Square, who was..what is called a jolly Fellow, or a *Widow's Man, he easily reconciled his Choice to the eternal Fitness of Things. 1790 Jackson's Oxf. Jrnl. 2 Oct., Fictitious Seamen called Widow's Men. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Widows' men, imaginary sailors, formerly borne on the books as A. B.'s for wages in every ship in commission; they ceased with the consolidated pay at the close of the war. |
| 1595 T. P. Goodwine Blanchardine Ded., Crauing your acceptance of this pore *widowes mite. 1849 *Widow's peak [see peak n.2 1 f]. |
| 1838 Bell Dict. Law Scot. 985 Where a husband has disponed property in which he stands infeft, but dies before the disponee has taken infeftment, the *widow's terce will form a burden on the property so disponed. 1715, 1836 *Widow's weeds [see weed n.2 6 b]. |
| 1939 S. Chamberlain Nantucket 25 Variously termed a ‘Captain's Walk’, or the ‘*Widow's Walk’, it is just ‘The Walk’ in Nantucket. 1961 J. Steinbeck Winter of our Discontent i. 14 The fine old house,..his great-grandfather's,..with..Adam decorations and a widow's walk on the roof. 1978 J. A. Michener Chesapeake 463 The name widow's walk derived from romantic tales of those loyal women who continued to keep watch for a ship that had long since gone to the bottom of some coral sea. |
Hence
† ˈwidowess (
Obs. rare—1), a widow (sense 1);
ˈwidowish a. = widowly adj.;
† ˈwidowist [
-ist used
irreg.]
= sense 1 e;
† ˈwidowity Obs. [hybrid alteration of
viduity], widowhood;
ˈwidowly a. [
-ly1], pertaining to, characteristic of, or befitting a widow (in
quot. 1884, widowed, or having the character of a widow);
ˈwidowly adv. [
-ly2], in a way befitting a widow, like a widow;
ˈwidow-wise adv. (
nonce-wd.), in the manner of a widow, like a widow;
ˈwidowy (
† -ie)
a. = widowly adj.| 1596 Clapham Briefe Bible ii. 126 [She] had bene 84 yeares *Widowesse. |
| 1567 Turberv. Ovid's Ep. 60 b, My *widowish couch. 1578 H. Wotton Courtlie Controv. 280 Turning and tossing..in hir widowishe bed. |
| 1593 Bancroft Surv. 221 There is a second sorte of Disciplinary *Widdowistes, that are very farre growen past Cartwright's lfs. [Cf. sense 1 e, quot. 1572.] |
| 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. i. 39 Suppose his mother in her *widowetie committed huredome. 1664 in Jervise Mem. Angus (1885) II. 15 Earl George..left her ‘the use of all his moveables in all his houses duering her widowity’. 1750–1 Macfarlane Geneal. Coll. (S.H.S. 1900) II. 465 She calls her Self when in her widowity Relicta Normani de Lessly. 1753 Stewart's Trial 53 The poor disconsolate lady, who now weeps over her own widowity. |
| 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 494/1 Virginitie, & *widoly chastitie. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 158 The Princesse..had now converted her widdowly meane into fresh teares of conjugall affection. 1884 Century Mag. XXVIII. 541 This charming young person,..the daughter of a widowly exile of France. |
| 1909 Rickert Beggar Heart 285 She conducted herself most *widowly. |
| 1904 Marson Folk Songs fr. Som. Introd. p. xvi, Song is not won *widow-wise, ‘by brisk assault and putting on’,..but rather must be wooed by slow approaches, like a maid. |
| 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. iii. (1674) 4 The very Muses..did..assist at the Obsequies in *widowie apparel. |
▪ II. widow, n.2 Obs. exc. dial. [OE. widewa, masc. corresp. to widewe widow n.1] = widower1 1.
† Also of common gender.
| c 1000 Instit. Polity xxii. in Thorpe Laws (1840) II. 332 Þæt he þanan-forð wydewa þurhwuniᵹe. 1340 Ayenb. 193 And alneway me ssel ham bleþeliche yeue, and nameliche to þe poure ssamueste, and to þe uaderlease, an to wyfmen wodewen, and to oþre nieduolle. Ibid. 225 Þe stat of wodewehod..þet zaynte paul prayzeþ moche, þet zayþ to wodewon, ‘hou þet guod is, he him hyealde ine þet stat’. c 1480 Henryson Orpheus & Eurydice 297 A wofull wedow [v.r. wedaw] hamewart is he went. 1518 H. Watson Hist. Oliver of Castile (Roxb.) B 4, Seynge that bothe partyes were wydowes,..it were moost conuenyent that he came theder for to wedde her. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 257/2 He abstened from marriage: whether hee neuer had a wife, or was a widowe, and kepte himself without one. 1633 Rutherford Lett. (1765) ii. xv. 341 Our Bridegroom cannot want a wife: can he live a widow? 1789 C. Smith Ethelinde (1814) IV. 93 He still lived a widow, on his estate in Jamaica. 1894 Crockett Raiders xxii, I had been a widow three years when I began to gang aboot Parton Hoose to see her. |
| attrib. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) iv. 35 Wedow men þat wantis To steill a pair of swyvis. c 1700 Directions for Distrib. Estate T. Rawlins of Barrow-on-Soar (MS.), Those poor Widdow men and Widdow women that have a charge of children to keep. 1841 S. C. Hall Ireland I. 30 Her father came here soon after she was born, a widow-man with only her. |
▪ III. ˈwidow, v. [f. widow n.1 or n.2] 1. trans. To make a widow (or,
rarely, widower) of; to reduce to widowhood; to bereave of one's husband (or wife). Most commonly in
pa. pple.: see also
widowed ppl. a.
| 13.. Cursor M. 24197 (Edinb.) Ik am nu widuit of mi spus. 1607 Shakes. Cor. v. vi. 153 In this City hee Hath widdowed and vnchilded many a one. 1748 Richardson Clarissa IV. 84 The Royal butchers, who..widow ten thousand at a brush, and make twice as many fatherless. 1814 Southey Roderick iii. 290 One hour hath orphaned me and widowed me. 1884 A. S. Swan Dorothea Kirke x, Be careful of yourself—for Dorothea's sake. I would not like to see her early widowed. 1887 Hatton Gay World xv, When he widowed her, as he must do, being so much her senior. |
b. fig. To deprive
of a valuable or highly prized possession (person, thing, or quality); to bereave. Usually in
pa. pple. Deprived, bereft.
| 1595 Markham Trag. Sir R. Grinuile cxv, Beeing..widow'd of her comly shape. 1649 C. Wase Sophocles, Electra 53 The House Widow'd of Friends, and seiz'd upon by Fiends! 1677 Baker in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) II. 18 The second equation is widowed of its geometrical construction. 1742 Young Nt. Th. viii. 1264 Wit, widow'd of good-sense, is worse than nought. 1791 Cowper Iliad v. 763 He..Lay'd Troy in dust, and widow'd all her streets. 1847 Le Fanu T. O'Brien 303 Odd niches and nooks—widowed of the clocks and presses. 1874 Motley John of Barneveld I. Pref. 8 France, widowed of Henry and waiting for Richelieu. |
† 2. To survive as a widow, become the widow of.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. ii. 26 Let mee be married to three Kings in a forenoone, and Widdow them all. |
† 3. To endow with a widow's right.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 429 For his Possessions,..We doe en-state, and widow you with all, To buy you a better husband. |
Hence
ˈwidowing vbl. n. and ppl. a. (in first
quot. app. vaguely used for ‘funereal’).
| ? 1605 Drayton Poems Lyr. & Pastoral Eglog vi. 105 Nor mournefull Cipresse nor sad widowing yew. 1906 Athenæum 17 Nov. 614/3 The widowing of the hero is a valueless shadow upon a vigorously improbable..story. 1921 Public Opin. 18 Feb. 157/2 She had earned her widowing by eight years' happiness. |