dowager English · revision 1571

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdaʊədʒə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈdaʊəd͡ʒɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|frm|douagiere|t=widow with a dower]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''douage'' “dower”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from ''douer'' “to endow”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[la|dōtāre]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) from ''dōs'' (genitive ''dōtis'') “dowry”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is related to [[dower]] and [[dowry]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A widow holding a title or property from her late husband (1530).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The title distinguished a widow of rank from the wife of her husband's heir;^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) the OED, quoted by Etymonline, notes that it was apparently first used of Mary Tudor, widow of Louis XII, and then of Catherine of Aragon as “Princess Dowager”.^(Etymonline) From 1870 it was applied informally to any elderly lady of dignified bearing.^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1530 – a widow with a title or property from her husband.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1542 – the spelling ''dowager''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1819 – applied to men or animals.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1870 – a dignified elderly lady.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[widow]] who holds a title or property from her late husband, as in ''queen dowager''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A dignified elderly woman of high social standing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dowager's hump]]

+ * [[queen dowager]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dower]]

+ * [[dowry]]

+ * [[endow]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}