Etymologically
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widow

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:48. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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