widow

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈwɪd.əʊ/ (UK); /ˈwɪd.oʊ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English widewe, inherited from Old English widewe (“widow”), wuduwe,^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *widuwō,^[2][3] cognate with Dutch weduwe, German Witwe and Gothic widuwō,^[3][4] from PIE *widhewo-,^[2][4] seen also in Latin vidua (“widow”), Sanskrit vidhávā and Old Irish fedb.^[2][3][4] It is considered to be from a root meaning to separate, divide (compare Latin dīvidere, divide),^[2][4] or one meaning to be empty.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A woman whose husband is dead: about 825 in the OED, about 830 in Barnhart.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

A female animal that has lost its mate is from about 1220, and figurative uses from about 1380.^[7] A wife separated from or deserted by her husband is from the mid-15th century, usually in combinations such as widow bewitched and grass widow,^[2][7] and the word as a title before a name from 1576.^[7] Widower was substituted in the 14th century for the Old English masculine widewa.^[4] Widow's mite is from Mark 12:43,^[2] and Word Origins notes that widow's weeds (late 16th century) uses an old word weeds, garments.^[6] In printing, a short line at the top of a column is implied in print-shop slang by 1904.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 825 – a widow.^[7]
• c. 1220 – of animals.^[7]
• mid-15th century – a deserted wife.^[2]
• 1576 – as a title.^[7]
• 1904 – in printing.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A woman whose husband has died and who has not married again.
2. (informal) A woman whose husband is often away at a sport or hobby: a golf widow.
3. (printing) A short last line of a paragraph at the top of a page or column.
4. In some card games, an extra hand dealt face down.

Verb

1. To make a widow or widower of.

Word family

• widowly
• chuck-will's-widow
• black widow
• golf widow
• grass widow
• merry widow
• widow bird
• widow's mite

Related words

• widower
• widowhood
• divide
• individual

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press